U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH FISCAL YEAR 2026 PHASE I SOLICITATION

The U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program invites small business concerns to review this pre-solicitation notice for opportunities within its Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) SBIR Phase I solicitation.  

THIS IS A PRE-SOLICITATION NOTICE; NO SUBMISSIONS ARE ACCEPTED AT THIS TIME.  

The pre-solicitation period for U.S. DOT’s FY26 solicitation is from April 29, 2026, through May 29, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET). Full descriptions of U.S. DOT’s proposed FY26 Phase I solicitation research topics can be found in Appendix A: U.S. DOT SBIR Proposed FY26 Phase I Research Topics.

During the pre-solicitation period, small businesses must post any technical questions concerning the proposed research topics to the SBIR Pre-solicitation Q&A Forum at https://usdot.uservoice.com/forums/967226 (see instructions below). Questions must be limited to specific information related to improving the understanding of a particular topic's requirements. Please note that all posted questions will be publicly available. Do not share solution ideas or proprietary information. Only clarifying questions should be submitted. Telephone inquiries or meeting requests will not be accepted or responded to.  

Potential offerors should not seek advice or guidance on its solution to any given topic nor submit any materials other than question(s) regarding the topic. The U.S. DOT will not respond to requests for advice or guidance on any offeror’s solution to any SBIR topic and will not consider any submitted materials other than questions. Potential offerors must not include in the question(s) any information that they do not wish to be made public. All questions and corresponding answers will be available to the public.  

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.  

How to Use the SBIR Pre-solicitation Q&A Forum (https://usdot.uservoice.com/forums/967226):  

Register: Anyone can view questions, but registration is required if you wish to post a question and receive a notification when it is responded to.  

1. To create a new account or to sign in with an existing account, click on “sign in” located at the top-right of the page and a new pop-up window will open.  

2. You may use an existing Google or Facebook account to access the site, or you may select to create a new account.  

3. If you choose to access UserVoice with an existing Google or Facebook account, you will be required to enter your login credentials for Google or Facebook and agree to terms of service. 

4. If you choose to create a new account, click “Create an Account” underneath the password box.  

5. In the next screen, type in the email and click “Verify Email.”  

6. Navigate to your inbox and click the link within the email to verify. The link will be generated by noreply@trymagic.com. That link will be live for 20 minutes. Once that time elapses, you will have to request another one.  

7. Navigate back to UserVoice, and provide your name, a password, and agree to terms of service and storage permissions. Click “Create Account.”  

Search: Browse the existing questions by category to find the topic you are interested in and to see if your question has already been addressed. If you see a question that you are also interested in, you may add a vote to the question or leave a comment.  

 Post: If your question has not already been posted, use the “Enter your idea” box at the top of the page to enter your question.   

1.  Select the research topic your question is related to from the drop-down menu that appears when you begin typing. 

2. You may add more detail in the Description box (optional). Do NOT attach any files. The U.S. DOT will not consider any submitted materials other than questions posted on the Q&A Forum.  

3. When finished, select “Post idea.” If you register, you will be able to track responses to your post. Please include only one question or comment per post to help keep the forum organized.  

The U.S. DOT anticipates release of its FY26 Phase I solicitation on or about June 3, 2026. An informational webinar about the solicitation and any program changes will be held in early June. More information on how to register for this webinar will be available on the U.S. DOT SBIR website and in the solicitation when it is issued.  

Upon solicitation release, only small businesses as defined in the Small Business Administration (SBA) SBIR Policy Directive are eligible to submit offers to the U.S. DOT SBIR FY26 Phase I solicitation. Additionally, all small business offerors must be registered in the following databases: SBA’s SBIR Company Registry Database (https://app.www.sbir.gov/company-registration/overview) and the System for Award Management (SAM) (https://sam.gov/SAM/).  

The proposed FY26 research topics are listed below.  Full descriptions of each research topic are included in Appendix A, which is attached to this notice. 

Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)   

• 26-FH1: Edge 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 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