2026 Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) National Program

Source-based overview

This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) announces the availability of funds under the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) Program and solicits applications from eligible entities to incentivize and accelerate the upgrade or retirement of the nation’s legacy diesel engine fleet. Eligible activities include the retrofit or replacement of existing diesel engines, vehicles, and equipment with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and California Air Resources Board (CARB) certified or verified technologies. There are several ways DERA recipients may implement projects and fund project partners, depending on the roles and responsibilities of each. If the applicant is the owner of the target vehicles, the applicant may directly implement the project. If the applicant is partnering with diesel fleet owners, the applicant may award subawards or participant support costs (e.g., rebates). Please refer to Section 9.B. for detailed guidance on funding partnerships. After an extensive review of the program, the EPA revamped DERA requirements to ensure alignment with the Administration’s priorities, improve the quality of projects funded, expand the availability of technology choices, and respond to stakeholder requests for a simplified program structure. Consistent with agency grants direction, updates to 2 CFR §200.204 and DERA statutory requirements, this NOFO reflects these changes and inputs when compared to previous funding notice opportunities. This NOFO is a competitive grant program. The DERA Program has another competitive funding opportunity, DERA Tribal and Territory Program , which funds similar activities but is only open to eligible Tribal and territory applicants. Competitive funding for school bus replacement is also available through the EPA’s Clean School Bus Program . The DERA Program also provides non-competitive funding to U.S. States and territories through the DERA State Program . The official record contains the controlling eligibility, budget, attachment and submission requirements for opportunity EPA-OAR-OTAQ-26-01.

Eligibility

Eligible applicant types listed by the agency: Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification). Applicants must also satisfy every programme-specific condition in the official notice.

Funding and benefits

Award ceiling: USD 12,000,000

Expected number of awards: 120

Themes and supported activities

This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) announces the availability of funds under the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) Program and solicits applications from eligible entities to incentivize and accelerate the upgrade or retirement of the nation’s legacy diesel engine fleet. Eligible activities include the retrofit or replacement of existing diesel engines, vehicles, and equipment with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and California Air Resources Board (CARB) certified or verified technologies. There are several ways DERA recipients may implement projects and fund project partners, depending on the roles and responsibilities of each. If the applicant is the owner of the target vehicles, the applicant may directly implement the project. If the applicant is partnering with diesel fleet owners, the applicant may award subawards or participant support costs (e.g., rebates). Please refer to Section 9.B. for detailed guidance on funding partnerships. After an extensive review of the program, the EPA revamped DERA requirements to ensure alignment with the Administration’s priorities, improve the quality of projects funded, expand the availability of technology choices, and respond to stakeholder requests for a simplified program structure. Consistent with agency grants direction, updates to 2 CFR §200.204 and DERA statutory requirements, this NOFO reflects these changes and inputs when compared to previous funding notice opportunities. This NOFO is a competitive grant program. The DERA Program has another competitive funding opportunity, DERA Tribal and Territory Program , which funds similar activities but is only open to eligible Tribal and territory applicants. Competitive funding for school bus replacement is also available through the EPA’s Clean School Bus Program . The DERA Program also provides non-competitive funding to U.S. States and territories through the DERA State Program .

Opportunity number: EPA-OAR-OTAQ-26-01

Deadline and timeline

Applications close 2027-01-22: Applications close 2027-01-22: Jan 22, 2027.

Applicants should confirm the exact deadline time, time zone, required documents, portal steps and any institutional approvals on the official call page before submitting.

How to apply

Open the official Grants.gov record, review the full notice and attachments, and use the application package or agency route stated there.

Before applying, check eligibility rules, budgets, attachments, page limits, partner requirements, cost-share conditions and whether the opportunity uses an expression of interest, full proposal, registration or nomination stage.