Off-Road, Rail, Marine, and Aviation

VTO's Off-Road, Rail, Marine, and Aviation (ORMA) program focuses on new propulsion and vehicle technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions for off-road, rail, marine, and aviation sectors. Technologies include:

• Electric and hybrid powertrains as well as high-efficiency engines that can use renewable fuels, such as advanced biofuels, hydrogen, and e-fuels (electro-fuels, i.e., fuels synthesized from zero-carbon feedstocks).
• Supports a multi-lab initiative, in close collaboration with industry and academia to achieve the goal of decarbonizing the non-road sector and will apply the unique experimental, high-performance computing and hardware in-the-loop facilities to create knowledge, new concepts, and research tools.
• Optimization of emission control systems.

ORMA Goals: Support R&D focused on non-road, heavy-duty vehicles, including engines used for off-road, rail, marine, and aviation applications that improve their ability to utilize renewable and low carbon fuels, increase the adoption of hybrid and electrified powertrains, and reduce emissions. 

ORMA's R&D areas:

• Develop fuel efficient designs for hydrogen engines for off-road, rail and marine applications; optimize hybrid powertrains for off-road vehicles.
• Explore trans-critical phenomena of Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) through high-fidelity simulations at relevant conditions.
• Develop predictive CFD capabilities for the analysis of ignition performance of SAFs at high altitude.
• Develop a science-based understanding of how engine efficiency and emissions are impacted by renewable fuel properties.
• Reduce the fuel use penalty and improve the effectiveness and durability of emissions control devices.

ORMA supports a number of unique user facilities at the national laboratories. In addition to the national laboratories, research and development is done in collaboration with industry, other federal agencies (such as the National Science Foundation) and universities, as well as through government/industry partnerships:

• the U.S. DRIVE Partnership focusing on light-duty vehicles
• the 21st Century Truck Partnership, focusing on heavy-duty vehicles

The off-road, rail, marine, and aviation sectors, the focus areas of this program, contribute 27% of the U.S. transportation greenhouse gas emissions. As passenger and commercial vehicles become electrified, the percentage of greenhouse gas emissions from these sectors will increase.