A simple and elegant approach to fabrication of dense ceramic membranes on porous substrates, a traditional dry pressing of foam powders, has been developed to reduce the cost of fabrication. Gd-doped ceria (GDC, Gd0.1Ce0.9O1.95) electrolyte membranes as thin as 8 mum are obtained by dry-pressing highly porous GDC powders. The membrane thickness can be readily controlled by the amount of powder. The electrolyte membranes are studied in a solid-oxide fuel cell (SOFC) with air as oxidant and humidified hydrogen (3% H2O) as fuel. Open-circuit voltages of about 1.0 V are observed, implying that the permeability of the membranes to molecular gases is insignificant. Power densities of 140 and 380 mW/cm(2) are demonstrated at 500 degrees and 600 degreesC, respectively, representing a significant progress in developing low-temperature SOFCs.