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According to European Union strategies, hydrogen technologies have a significant potential for the decarbonization of the automotive sector. Fuel Cells are considered a highly sustainable alternative to internal combustion engines for hybrid powertrain solutions. Since experimental tests on real prototypes are extremely costly in terms of time and resources, they represent a limit to the development rapidity of such complex vehicles. Consequently, simulation models are gaining further importance for their intrinsic time- and cost-saving characteristics, while their predictive capability is crucial. Accordingly, the development of the so-called “digital twins” able to accurately represent the real-time digital counterpart of a physical system has become an important research issue.

The international community is making significant efforts to face climate changes related to substantial greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Among all the sectors, transport is responsible for almost a quarter of global GHG emissions, 72% of which is imputable to road vehicles. It’s also expected that, without significant measures, these emissions may grow at a faster rate than other sectors. Furthermore, rising fuel costs and availability concerns have made the electrification of road transportation an attractive option to reduce oil dependency. However, this solution produces an electricity demand increase, causing significant overload conditions that could affect the reliability of the distribution sector.

In the face of the pressing climate crisis, a pivotal shift towards sustainability is imperative, particularly in the transportation sector, which contributed to nearly 22% of global Greenhouse Gas emissions in 2021. In this context, diversifying energy sources becomes paramount to prevent the collapse of sustainable infrastructure and harness the advantages of various technologies, such as Fuel Cell (FC) Hybrid Electric Vehicles. These vehicles feature powertrains comprising hydrogen FC stacks and battery packs, offering extended mileage, swift refueling times, and rapid dynamic responses. However, realizing these benefits hinges upon the adoption of a rigorously validated simulation platform capable of accurately forecasting vehicle performance across diverse design configurations and efficient Energy Management Strategies. Our study introduces a comprehensive microcar hybrid prototype model, encompassing all subsystems and auxiliaries.