The search for fossil fuels substitutes forces the use of new propulsion technologies applied to means of transportation. Already widespread, hybrid vehicles are beginning to share the market with hydrogen-powered propulsion systems. These systems are fuel cells or internal combustion engines powered by hydrogen fuel. In this context, road tests of a hydrogen fuel cell drive were conducted under typical traffic conditions according to the requirements of the RDE test. As a result of the carried-out work, energy flow conditions were presented for three driving phases (urban, rural and motorway). The different contributions to the vehicle propulsion of the hydrogen system and the electric system in each phase of the driving route are indicated. The characteristic interaction of power train components during varying driving conditions was presented. A wide variation in the contribution of the fuel cell and the battery to the vehicle’s propulsion was identified. In urban conditions, the share of the fuel cell in the vehicle’s propulsion is more than three times that contributed by the battery, suburban—7 times, highway—28 times. In the entire test, the ratio of FC/BATT use was more than seven, while the energy consumption was more than 22 kWh/100 km. The amounts of battery energy used and recovered were found to be very close to each other under RDE test conditions.

Electrification of powertrain systems offers numerous advantages in the global trend in vehicular applications. A wide range of energy sources and zero-emission propulsion in the tank to wheel significantly add to electric vehicles’ (EV) attractiveness. This paper presents analyses of the energy balance between micro-photovoltaic (PV) installation and small electric vehicle in real conditions. It is based on monitoring PV panel’s energy production and car electricity consumption. The methodology included energy data from real household PV installation (the most common renewable energy source in Poland), electric vehicle energy consumption during real driving conditions, and drivetrain operating parameters, all collected over a period of one year by indirect measuring. A correlation between energy produced by the micro-PV installation and small electric car energy consumption was described. In the Winter, small electric car energy consumption amounted to 14.9 kWh per 100 km and was 14% greater than summer, based on test requirements of real driving conditions. The 4.48 kW PV installation located in Poznań produced 4101 kWh energy in 258 days. The calculation indicated 1406 kWh energy was available for EV charging after household electricity consumption subtraction. The zero-emission daily distance analysis was done by the simplified method.

Hybrid vehicles allow an increase in the powertrain efficiency thanks to their design. One such factor is the use of increased voltage supplying electric motors to the voltage supplying the high voltage battery. The battery voltage is increased several times in the inverter (boost) system to increase the final electric power supplied to the electric motor. The article presents the possibilities of using such a voltage boost in urban and non-urban driving conditions. The tests were performed on the latest generations of parallel hybrid drive systems in Lexus NX 300h and Toyota RAV4 hybrid vehicles. It has been shown that the boost system is used in about 30–40% of the urban drive distance (up to 20% of the driving time). The power supply voltage boost of the electric motors of both vehicles is used throughout the entire engine speed range of these machines at high torque values. Research has shown that the maximum voltage gain – approximately three times (up to 650 V) – is within the maximum torque range of the electric motors and allows for doubling the torque generated by the drive.

Electromobility is developing rapidly in all areas of transportation, starting with small personal vehicles and passenger cars through public transportation vehicles and ending with noticeable expansion in the area of urban transportation services. So far, however, there is a lack of research determining how the effect of load weight defines the energy intensity of a vehicle under real conditions, especially in the areas of urban, suburban and highway driving. Therefore, this paper presents an analysis of a representative delivery vehicle and its energy consumption in two transportation scenarios where cargo weight is a variable. A survey was also conducted to determine the actual demand and requirements placed on the electric vehicle by transportation companies.

Vehicles with hybrid drive systems are being equipped with solutions that increase the drive systems efficiency more and more often. One such solution is the energy recovery during braking. Additionally this process leads to a voltage increase of the energy recovering generator. Battery voltage is increased several times in the inverter system in order to increase the electric generator power. The article presents the possibility of such a voltage gain from vehicle braking in urban driving conditions. The latest models of vehicles with hybrid drive systems were used in the tests, equipped with the same drive units, these were: Lexus NX 300h and Toyota RAV4 Hybrid. These are vehicles equipped with parallel hybrid drives (full hybrid). The tests were performed in an urban environment in the city of Warsaw, on the same routes. The study analyses the startup conditions of such a system and the characteristics of its operation. It has been shown that the increase in the voltage powering the electrical machinery occurs in both vehicles at high torque values. It has also been shown that rise in electrical equipment voltage for both of these vehicles mostly depends on their engine speed, and not on the generated power or torque (braking). The maximum voltage increase-almost threefold (up to 650 V) also allows for a twofold increase in the drive system breaking torque.