In this work, hierarchically porous composite metal oxide LiNiCuZn-oxide (LNCZO) was successfully synthesized through a sol-gel method with a bio-Artemia cyst shell (AS) as a hard template. The phase and morphology of the products were characterized by X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The as-synthesized material was used as symmetrical electrodes, anode and cathode, for the SDC-LiNaCO3 (LNSDC) electrolyte based low temperature solid oxide fuel cell (LTSOFCs), achieving a maximum power density of 132 mW cm(-2) at 550 degrees C. Besides, a single-component fuel cell device was also demonstrated using a mixture of as-prepared LNCZO and ionic conductor LNSDC, and a corresponding peak power output of 155 mW cm(-2) was obtained, suggesting that the hierarchically porous product has high prospective in the single-component fuel cell. Copyright (C) 2014, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.