Global warming and air pollution are the challenges that the automotive industry has to face to guarantee a fast transition towards sustainable mobility. In order to achieve this goal, the best strategy is to follow different paths, from powertrain electrification to innovative high efficiency ICEs. In this framework, the PHOENICE project aims to demonstrate that ICEs can still play an important role for the decarbonization of on-road mobility. To minimize fuel consumption and pollutant emissions, a set of novel technologies has been adopted to maximize the efficiency of the ICE and to fully exploit the synergies with a PHEV hybrid system.