Off-Road, Rail, Marine, and Aviation (ORMA)

Off-Road, Rail, Marine, and Aviation — R&D

Administers programs for off-road, rail, marine, and aviation mobility technology development in United States transport and aerospace.

The Off-Road, Rail, Marine, and Aviation (ORMA) program is an expanded research area within the DOE Transportation Technologies Office (TTO, formerly VTO, now under the CMEI office structure) that funds propulsion technology and fuel innovation for non-highway transportation sectors. ORMA was formally expanded in scope under the 2026 DOE reorganization, reflecting the current administration's preference for non-EV transport technologies and alternative fuels over passenger-vehicle electrification. The program targets four technology clusters: electric and hybrid powertrains with high-efficiency combustion engines, renewable fuel compatibility including advanced biofuels, hydrogen, and e-fuels, emission control system optimization, and Synthetic Aviation Turbine Fuel (SATF) development for commercial and defense aviation applications.

ORMA operates through inter-agency partnerships with EPA and DOT (Federal Railroad Administration, Maritime Administration, and Federal Aviation Administration), as well as NASA for aviation propulsion research. Funding flows through the annual TTO Program-Wide FOA and through national laboratory and industry consortium mechanisms — there is no dedicated standalone ORMA FOA. No specific open ORMA FOA was identified at the time of research. Eligible applicants for funding accessed through the TTO Program-Wide FOA include U.S.-registered for-profit companies, nonprofits, universities, and research organizations; individuals are not eligible. The 1:1 cost-share structure standard to TTO cooperative agreements applies to ORMA-funded work as well.

Organizations with expertise in marine vessel propulsion, rail locomotive efficiency, aviation turbine fuel chemistry, or off-highway equipment (construction, mining, agriculture) are most likely to find competitive ORMA topic areas in future TTO Program-Wide FOA cycles. Applicants should frame proposals explicitly around fuel efficiency, alternative fuels, or propulsion innovation — areas that align with the TTO's current political and programmatic priorities — and monitor grants.gov and energy.gov/cmei/vehicles/funding-opportunities for announcements of open topic areas within future FOA cycles. The hydrogen and fuel-cell framing used in adjacent programs like SuperTruck 3 offers a useful template for positioning ORMA-relevant proposals.