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Cost and reliability of solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) system resulting from high operating temperature severely hinders its wide-spread commercialization. In this study, high performance low temperature SOFCs with hierarchically porous nano cathode network (Sm_0.5Sr_0.5CoO₃–Gd_0.1Ce_0.9O_2−δ, SSC–GDC) have been fabricated by vacuum-free infiltration and subsequent freeze-drying combustion. The straight open GDC cathode skeleton and NiO–GDC anode substrate prepared by freeze-drying tape-casting facilitate mass transport while the nano cathode catalyst promotes the electrochemical reactions. The cell with straight open electrodes and hierarchically porous cathode network demonstrates a maximum power density of 0.65 W cm⁻² at 500 °C and impressive stability for more than 500 h at 400 °C using H₂ as fuel and ambient air as oxidant. The simple and cost-effective fabrication process is expected to …