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Modular multilevel converters can achieve high power quality and voltage ratings, becoming a good alternative for high-voltage direct-current applications. However, the circulating current and capacitor voltage ripple remain significant drawbacks, mainly due to the impact on efficiency and power density. In this work, a stationary operation of a modular multilevel converter is optimized by calculating the Pareto frontier of the arm energy ripple and the conduction losses for different operating conditions. From the set of optimal solutions, the best trade-off between energy ripple and power losses can be chosen depending on the application requirements. Therefore, an optimal operating point regarding capacitor voltage ripple and circulating current was found, optimizing efficiency and allowing a reduction of capacitance, hence size and cost. The theoretical analysis and results are validated experimentally on a prototype test-bench.