This publication outlines FEV’s engineering approach and the associated process steps for efficiency optimization of the entire powertrain definition for various commercial applications, from light-duty vehicles to heavy long-haul trucks, with particular emphasis on the most important use cases. A focus is on the crucial trade-off between attractive transient drivetrain performance and the pursuit of ultra-low, near zero tailpipe pollutant emissions. The applied measures, ranging from minimized mechanical friction and reduced losses to on-demand support by different boosting technologies, different types of H2 injection and mixture formation (external and internal), and different exhaust gas aftertreatment layouts, are thoroughly evaluated and investigated using FEV’s dedicated H2-ICE simulation tool chain. This enables the specification of satisfactory H2-ICE based powertrain solutions for a wide range of use cases in the commercial vehicle sector. This publication outlines FEV’s engineering approach and the associated process steps for optimization of the entire powertrain definition for various commercial vehicle applications, from light trucks to heavy long-haul trucks, with particular emphasis on the most important use cases. A focus is on the crucial trade-off between beneficial transient drivetrain performance and the pursuit of ultra-low, near zero tailpipe pollutant emissions. The applied level of support from different boosting technologies, different types of H2 injection and mixture formation (external and internal), and different exhaust gas aftertreatment layouts is thoroughly evaluated and investigated using FEV’s dedicated H2 ICE simulation tool chain. This enables the specification of satisfactory H2-ICE based powertrain solutions for a wide range of use cases in the commercial vehicle sector.