Fuel economy is a key aspect to reduce operating costs and improve efficiency of freight traffic, thus increasing truck competitiveness. The main objective of the IMPERIUM project (IMplementation of Powertrain Control for Economic and Clean Real driving EmIssion and ConsUMption) is to achieve fuel consumption reduction by 20% (diesel and urea) whilst keeping the vehicle within the legal limits for pollutant emissions. The approach relies on three stages targeting the improvement of the control strategy: (a) direct optimisation of the control of the main components (engine, exhaust after-treatment, transmission, waste heat recovery, e-drive) to maximize their performances, (b) global powertrain energy manager to coordinate the different energy sources and optimize their use depending on the current driving situation, (c) providing a more comprehensive understanding of the mission (eHorizon, mission-based learning) such that the different energy sources can be planned and optimized on a long term. The IMPERIUM consortium consists of major European actors and is able to provide a 100% European value chain for the development of future powertrain control strategies for trucks. This paper addresses the opportunities for powertrain optimization from the control strategy point of view, by modeling the physical behaviour of the truck, presenting the existing control strategies, and finally identifying the opportunities for additional, look-ahead mission-related information.