The pre-solicitation period for U.S. DOT’s FY26 Phase I Solicitation is from Wednesday, April 29th, 2026 through Friday, May 29th, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET). View the pre-solicitation instructions and full descriptions of U.S. DOT’s proposed FY26 Phase I solicitation research topics.

View the System for Award Management (SAM) notice.

Things to Know

• During the pre-solicitation period, technical questions concerning the proposed research topics should be directed to the U.S. DOT topic authors via an online forum at uservoice.com. Please read the FY26 pre-solicitation notice for instructions.
• U.S. DOT’s FY26 Phase I solicitation is tentatively scheduled to open on Wednesday, June 3, 2026. An announcement on a webinar date will be shared in the coming weeks. Sign up for SBIR emails to receive a notice.
• Technical questions regarding the research topics will be accepted ONLY during the pre-solicitation period (April 29, 2026, through May 29, 2026). Technical questions will not be accepted after 5:00 p.m. ET on May 29, 2026. Only questions received by posting to the forum as cited above prior to the deadline will be answered by the U.S. DOT research topic authors. Answers to all questions from the pre-solicitation period will remain available on the forum when the U.S. DOT FY26 SBIR Phase I solicitation is released on or about June 3, 2026.

Funding Limits:      PhI – $200k         PhII – $1.5M

FY26 Proposed Research Topics

The proposed FY26 research topics are listed below. Full descriptions of each research topic are included in Appendix A, which is included in theFY26pre-solicitation notice.

Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)

• 26-FH1: Edge Artificial Intelligence Vehicle-to-Everything (AI-V2X) Integrated Practical Solutions for Congestion Prevention and Mitigation
• 26-FH2: Automated Mobile Catch-basin Inspection System

Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)

• 26-FR1: Mobile High-Power Emergency Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) De-energizer System for Rail Vehicle Propulsion

Federal Transit Administration (FTA)

• 26-FT1: Person-Centered, Carefree, Complete Trip Planning – Powered by AI

Office of the Secretary (OST)

• 26-OS1: Predictive Safety Analytics for Commercial Transport Modernization
• 26-OS2: Freight Corridor Predictive Intelligence

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA)

• 26-PH1: Increase End-of-Life Battery Safety and Recovery of Rare Earth Minerals
• 26-PH2: Thermal Indicator Coatings for Hazardous Materials Packaging Safety
• 26-PH3: Self-repairing Hazardous Materials Packaging
• 26-PH4: Improved Response to Lithium-ion Battery Fires