Although ceramic nanocomposite fuel cells (CNFCs) have attracted the attention of the fuel cell community due to their low operating temperature (<600 degrees C), often the performance of the cells is limited due to the low ionic conductivity of the electrolyte and the sluggish reaction kinetics at the electrodes. This results in high ohmic and charge transfer losses in the cell performance. Here we report nanocomposite electrolyte (GDC-NLC) and electrodes (NiO-GDC-NLC and LSCF-GDC-NLC as anode and cathode respectively) with enhanced ionic conductivity and catalytic activity respectively, which significantly improve the ionic transport in the electrolyte layer (ohmic losses approximate to 0.23 Omega cm(2)) and the reaction kinetics at the electrodes (polarization losses approximate to 0.63 Omega cm(2)). Microstructural and phase changes in the materials were characterized with X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry to understand the mechanisms in the cells. Our button fuel cell produced an outstanding performance of 1.02 W/cm(2) at 550 degrees C. (C) 2018 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.