A state-of-the-art review of sustainable electrified vehicles: Architectures, hybrid energy storage integration, energy management and key challenges

Electrified vehicles rely on complex interactions between sources and control systems. Optimizing these interactions is essential for improving performance, efficiency, and longevity, yet a system-level synthesis of hybrid energy storage architectures and their associated management strategies remains fragmented in the existing literature. This review provides a holistic, system-level analysis centered on the integration of Hybrid Energy Storage Systems (HESS) and Energy Management Strategies (EMS). It begins by classifying electrified vehicle architectures and comparing their operational principles. The study then evaluates the principal onboard energy storage technologies such as batteries, fuel cells, supercapacitors, and flywheels followed by a detailed examination of HESS with emphasis on their respective advantages in meeting dynamic power demands. A comparative assessment of EMS frameworks is also presented, spanning rule-based methods to advanced optimization-based approaches. The analysis elucidates how different HESS topologies and EMS methods interact to influence power distribution, component stress, and overall system efficiency. Key findings highlight the trade-offs among topology complexity, cost, and control flexibility, as well as the performance benefits offered by optimization-based strategies over conventional rule-based counterparts. The review synthesizes the primary technical challenges that impede widespread adoption of hybrid electrified vehicles, including issues related to system integration, control robustness, and component longevity. It concludes with targeted recommendations to guide the development of next-generation electric mobility solutions, emphasizing the need for co-optimized HESS and EMS designs.