Future Powertrain Technologies for Sustainable Mobility: Electrified, Hybrid, and Alternative-Fuel Pathways

Transport is one of the hardest sectors to decarbonise. Road vehicles alone account for roughly 16% of global CO₂ emissions, and the challenge grows once marine and off-road machinery are included. No single technology fits every application, duty cycle, or market. Battery-electric drivetrains are reshaping passenger cars and urban fleets, while fuel cells, hydrogen-fuelled combustion, and alternative fuels are emerging for heavy-duty road transport, shipping, and off-road use where full electrification faces hard constraints. Progress is fast on several fronts at once: battery chemistry and thermal management, falling green-hydrogen costs, drop-in e-fuels and advanced biofuels, and the integration of powertrains with smart grids and vehicle-to-grid systems. The powertrain is becoming a node in a wider energy ecosystem.Meeting net-zero targets requires a portfolio of powertrain solutions rather than a single technology bet. Yet significant gaps remain in real-world performance data, lifecycle and well-to-wheel analysis, policy frameworks, and the system-level understanding needed to guide infrastructure investment and large-scale deployment. This Research Topic aims to close those gaps by bringing together the research community around the next generation of powertrains for road, marine, and off-road transport. We want to build a rigorous, cross-disciplinary evidence base that spans the powertrain itself, its integration into vehicles and energy systems, and its place within regulatory and market frameworks. By connecting mechanical engineering, electrochemistry, energy systems, environmental science, and transport policy, the collection will inform technology deployment decisions and help match the right powertrain to the right application, geography, and duty cycle.We welcome contributions across the powertrain landscape, including but not limited to: • Battery-electric powertrains (cell chemistry, thermal management, degradation, fast charging, second-life applications) • Fuel-cell systems (pemfc and sofc architectures, durability, hydrogen storage, integration) • Hybrid powertrains (mild, full, and plug-in architectures, power-split strategies, heavy-duty hybridisation) • Hydrogen-ice (combustion, emissions control, engine adaptation) • Alternative and synthetic fuels (e-fuels, advanced biofuels, ammonia, methanol, drop-in solutions) • Energy management strategies (real-time control, predictive, and ai-driven optimisation) • Real-world emissions and efficiency • Lifecycle and well-to-wheel analysis • Thermal and after-treatment systems • System-level integration with smart grids, refuelling infrastructure, and v2g • Policy and regulatory perspectives We invite original research articles, systematic reviews, methods papers, and short policy or perspective pieces from researchers, engineers, and policy specialists. Topic editors: Carlo Beatrice, Dario Di Maio, Roberto Ianniello Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/84022/future-powertrain-technologies-for-sustainable-mobility-electrified-hybrid-and-alternative-fuel-pathways