The preference and the development of electromobility are included among the priorities of transport policies in many European countries. This article deals with the issue of electric vehicle operation from the point of view of the environmental impact of electric power production, specifically the energy effectiveness of its production by utilizing primary power production sources. Differences in the effectiveness of the conversion of mixed forms of energy into electricity and their share in the process directly affect the final level of greenhouse gases (GHG) production, and thus the ecological footprint of electric vehicle operations. The specification of energy consumption and GHG production is based on the principles of the EN 16 258: 2012 standard, which considers legislative-regulated power plant effectiveness values, statistical values of GHG emissions from electricity production, and real energy consumption values of an electric vehicle fleet. The calculation takes into account the share of primary sources and the efficiency of electricity production and effectiveness of electricity distribution in each of the evaluated countries. The specific research study is performed by comparing measured parameters for individual countries chosen from the Central Europe region. The results of the study show that the quantification of the positive environmental consequences of increasing electromobility varies greatly in different countries, which means full-scale deployment of electromobility does necessarily deliver the sustainability of transport that was expected from it.

Regardless of the increasingly intensive application of vehicles with electric drives, internal combustion engines are still dominant as power units of mobile systems in various sectors of the economy. In order to reduce the emission of exhaust gases and satisfy legal regulations, as a temporary solution, hybrid drives with optimized internal combustion engines and their associated systems are increasingly being used. Application of the variable compression ratio and diesel fuel injection timing, as well as the tribological optimization of parts, contribute to the reduction in fuel consumption, partly due to the reduction in mechanical losses, which, according to test results, also results in the reduction in emissions. This manuscript presents the results of diesel engine testing on a test bench in laboratory conditions at different operating modes (compression ratio, fuel injection timing, engine speed, and load), which were processed using a zero-dimensional model of the combustion process. The test results should contribute to the optimization of the combustion process from the aspect of minimal particulate matter emission. As a special contribution, the results of tribological tests of materials for strengthening the sliding surface of the aluminum alloy piston and cylinder of the internal combustion engine and air compressors, which were obtained using a tribometer, are presented. In this way, tribological optimization should also contribute to the reduction in particulate matter emissions due to the reduction in fuel consumption, and thus emissions due to the reduction in friction, as well as the recorded reduction in the wear of materials that are in sliding contact. In this way, it contributes to the reduction in harmful gases in the air.

Composite materials have been increasingly used in various branches of industry, transport, construction, and medicine—as well as in other sectors of the economy and science—in recent decades. A significant advancement in the improvement of composite material characteristics has been achieved through the use of nanoparticles, which substantially enhance the properties of the base material, whether it is the matrix or the reinforcing phase in hybrid composites. The broad application of polymers and polymer composites in many areas of engineering has had a significant impact on reducing friction and wear, improving the thermal characteristics of individual components and entire technical systems, enhancing electrical conductivity, reducing the specific weight of components, lowering noise and vibration levels, and ultimately decreasing fuel consumption, production costs, and the costs of operation and maintenance of technical systems. This paper explores the potential applications of polymer composites in various assemblies and components of conventional vehicles, as well as in hybrid and electric vehicles. Furthermore, their use in medicine and the defense industry is examined—fields in which some authors believe composites were first pioneered. Finally, aviation represents an indispensable domain for the application of such materials, presenting unique exploitation boundary conditions, including dynamic environmental changes such as variations in temperature, pressure, velocity, and direction, as well as the need for high levels of protection. Future research can be unequivocally focused on the structural and technological advancement of polymer composites, specifically through optimization aimed at reducing waste and lowering production costs.

In this study, a multi-objective optimization regarding the tribological characteristics of the hybrid composite with a base material of aluminum alloy A356 as a constituent, reinforced with a 10 wt.% of silicon carbide (SiC), size 39 µm, and 1, 3, and 5 wt.% graphite (Gr), size 35 µm, was performed using the Taguchi method, gray relational analysis (GRA), and Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) decision-making methods. Tribological tests were carried out on a “block on disc” type tribometer with lubrication. Load, sliding speed, and graphite mass concentration were analyzed as input parameters. As output parameters, wear rate and coefficient of friction were calculated. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to identify all parameters that have a significant influence on the output multi-response. It was found that the normal load has the highest influence of 41.86%, followed by sliding speed at 32.48% and graphite addition at 18.47%, on the tribological characteristics of composites. Multi-objective optimization determined that the minimal wear rate and coefficient of friction are obtained when the load is 40 N, the sliding speed is 1 m/s, and the composite contains 3 wt.% Gr. The optimal combination of parameters achieved by GRA was also confirmed by the TOPSIS method, which indicates that both methods can be used with high reliability to optimize the tribological characteristics. The analysis of worn surfaces using scanning electron microscopy revealed adhesive and delamination wear as dominant mechanisms.

In the era of increasing demand for sources of renewable and cleaner energy, electric vehicles offer possible solutions in order to maintain and improve the mobility of transport systems. In parallel, the application of machine learning for digital twin technology greatly contributes to the development and optimization of vehicles and systems, saving time and resources, as well as material resources. In terms of electric vehicle components, electric batteries represent the most expensive elements where machine learning can help to optimize characteristics during exploitation and to predict maintenance time and their lifetime. This article related to the possibilities of future research, which, by intensifying the digitalization and machine learning for digital twin technology, will affect the improvement of the application and disposal of components, but the complete system of electric vehicles, during the entire life cycle, including the recycling.