A Comprehensive Review on Advances in Low-Carbon Powertrains: Hybridization of Hydrogen Fuel Cells with Batteries and Supercapacitors in Transportation Systems

Systems that use hybrid hydrogen fuel cells alongside batteries and supercapacitors serve as great carbon friendly alternatives to internal combustion and battery powered electric vehicles. Fuel cells use hydrogen as fuel, and through an electrochemical process, produces electricity and water, keeping the environment clean, and allowing for quick refuelling with long range driving. However, fuel cells do have some drawbacks, such as, relatively low instantaneous power output, and the inability to respond to rapid load changes. By including batteries, energy is captured during regenerative braking, and is used to charge the system, allowing the system to smooth energy load. Additionaly, supercapacitors provide the rapid bursts of power needed to achieve instantaneous acceleration and for transient power demands. This combined effect improves system efficiency, and urban driving behavior while extending system component life by 10-20%. Conducting a systematic literature review between 2000 and 2025 has shown the operational flexibility, and low GHG emissions that come with the use of heavy duty trucks and public transport. However, the system is still considered underdeveloped as a result of high production costs, the complex nature of the system, water having to be produced with fossil fuel, and the limited hydrogen refuelling infrastructure available.Unlocking this technology ’s potential will depend on the scaling of green hydrogen production, additional infrastructure, and enhanced energy efficiency. Solid state batteries, new materials, and AI driven controls hybridization’s technology improvements are increasingly making these systems economical, dependable, and top performing. In Asia and Europe, cooperative governance, international collaboration, and private investment are speeding up the diffusion. Although, there are several technical, economic, and sociocultural issues that need to be tackled. Technology, policy, and infrastructure advancement need to be better aligned to maximize the effective use of HFC-battery-supercapacitor systems which can be the foundation of the global transport decarbonization policy.