Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
Office of Hazardous Materials Safety Research Initiative – FY2026 BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT (BAA)
Department of Transportation · Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
AI summaryPhase 1 white papers: due November 18, 2026, 11:59 AM Eastern. Only firms invited after Phase 1 may send Phase 2 full proposals; the Phase 2 due date is not in the notice text. The Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) wants research proposals under a broad agency announcement (BAA, a call for research ideas) to improve safety in moving hazardous materials, with awards up to $2,000,000 and up to 36 months of work. More in the summary
A newer version of this notice was posted Oct 15, 2026. See the latest version.
AI summary Beta
Summary of the version posted Oct 13, 2026. The notice was amended Oct 15, 2026. Check what else changed on SAM.gov. Some details are in the notice's attachments, which this summary didn't read. Check the attachments on SAM.gov.
Phase 1 white papers: due November 18, 2026, 11:59 AM Eastern. Only firms invited after Phase 1 may send Phase 2 full proposals; the Phase 2 due date is not in the notice text. The Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) wants research proposals under a broad agency announcement (BAA, a call for research ideas) to improve safety in moving hazardous materials, with awards up to $2,000,000 and up to 36 months of work.
Who can bid
- Invitation from PHMSA after the Phase I white paper to send a Phase II full proposal
How to submit: Set out in Section X.A of the attached BAA solicitation (Attachment 1), where Amendment 01 added the contact email tremayne.terry@dot.gov. What to include is under Full summary below. Check the solicitation's instructions on SAM.gov.
Things to watch
- Serious: Two phases: only invited firms send full proposals. A business that does not send a Phase I white paper by November 18, 2026 may be shut out of Phase II, which is by invitation only; the Phase II due date is not given here.
- Worth checking: Phase I due date changed by Amendment 01. Amendment 01 changed the Phase I white paper due date from December 22, 2026 to November 18, 2026, so use the later amendments and attachments.
- Worth checking: Key rules are in attachments. Eligibility, formatting, subcontractor eligibility for foreign entities, submission limits and the question answers are in attached documents, not in the notice text.
Read from the notice text only.
Full summary
What they want
- 26HM-ESS, Efficient Safety Standards: modernize safety standards and testing, streamline certification, use safety data
- 26HM-SST, Safe Energy Storage Technologies: transportation risks of energy storage systems and battery chemistries, thermal runaway detection, critical mineral recovery
- 26HM-IPG, Innovative Packaging: advanced packaging materials, containment designs, integrity monitoring, failure simulations
- 26HM-RER, Risk Reduction for Emergency Response: technologies and data to improve emergency responder safety and communication
- 26HM-RTS, Hazardous Materials Rail Transportation Safety: rail tank car performance in derailments, crashworthiness, thermal shielding, risk modeling
- Contract type
- Procurement contracts, firm-fixed-price (one set price) or cost-reimbursement (the Government pays allowed costs)
- Period of performance
- Up to 36 months total
- Place of performance
- Washington, DC, as listed on SAM.gov
- Estimated value
- Awards up to $2,000,000
- Contract vehicle
- Broad Agency Announcement PHMSA-26HM-BAA under FAR 35.016
- How they'll choose
- Two-phase selection: Phase I white paper, then Phase II invited full proposal
- Offers due
- November 18, 2026, 11:59 AM Eastern (Phase I white paper) (from the version posted Oct 13, 2026; amended since)
- How to submit
- Set out in Section X.A of the attached BAA solicitation (Attachment 1), where Amendment 01 added the contact email tremayne.terry@dot.gov
What to include when you submit
- Send a Phase I white paper by the date above; a full proposal is sent only if invited after Phase I
- Read the attached Amendment 02 and 03 answers to vendor questions, which cover Phase I white paper submissions, submission limits, deadlines and multi-topic proposals
Not in the notice text
- The BAA solicitation (Attachment 1) and the Amendment 02 and 03 question responses are attached and were not read; they hold eligibility, formatting, submission limits, evaluation criteria and the rules for foreign subcontractors
- The Phase II full proposal due date is not stated in the notice text
- The number of awards planned is not stated
Eligibility and how to respond
- No set-aside: any business, large or small, can bid unless the notice says otherwise.
- How to submit, from the AI summary: Set out in Section X.A of the attached BAA solicitation (Attachment 1), where Amendment 01 added the contact email tremayne.terry@dot.gov. Check it in the notice before you send anything.
Notice details
- Posted
- Oct 13, 2026
- Notice type
- Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
- Office
- 693JK3 Acquisition Services Div., Washington, DC
- Product/service code
- AJ12 · General Science and Technology R&D Services; General Science and Technology; Applied Research
- Business type
- Engineering, architecture & research (FedReady's grouping, from NAICS 541715)
- Versions
5 versions have been posted, newest first.
- Oct 15, 2026 · Amendment 0004Due Nov 18, 2026
- Oct 13, 2026 · Amendment 0003 (this version)Due Nov 18, 2026
- Sep 21, 2026 · Amendment 0002Due Nov 18, 2026
- Aug 24, 2026 · Amendment 0001Due Nov 18, 2026 (changed)
- Aug 20, 2026 · Combined Synopsis/SolicitationDue Dec 22, 2026
- Attachments
Past awards and competition
Who has won work like this before, the likely incumbent, and what similar contracts paid, from USAspending.gov.
Before you respond
- How to respond to a solicitation (8 steps)
- How to read a government solicitation
- How to price a government contract
Terms on this notice: Solicitation
Full notice text from SAM.gov
AMENDMENT 03 (10/13/2026): The purpose of this Amendment 0003 is to incorporate additional responses to inquiries concerning the solicitation as a continuation of questions 1 through 13 under Amendment 0002 (See attached). All other terms and conditions of the solicitation remain unchanged. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AMENDMENT 02 (09/21/2026): The purpose of this amendment is to incorporate PHMSA’s Responses to Vendor Inquiries regarding Phase I white paper submissions, subcontractor eligibility for foreign entities, submission limits, deadlines, and multi-topic proposals under the solicitation (See attached). All other terms and conditions of the solicitation remain unchanged. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AMENDMENT 01 (08/24/2026): The purpose of this amendment is to (1) change the Phase I White Paper due date from December 22, 2026, to November 18, 2026, and (2) add the contact email address tremayne.terry@dot.gov to Section X.A. in Attachment 1- BAA Solicitation_PHMSA-26HM-BAA. All other terms and conditions of the solicitation remain unchanged. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), Office of Hazardous Materials Safety (OHMS), is soliciting white papers and full proposals under Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) PHMSA-26HM-BAA pursuant to FAR 35.016. The objective of this announcement is to award competitive research contracts that advance scientific, technical, engineering, and policy solutions to prevent incidents and enhance safety during the transportation of hazardous materials across all modes. Offerors are invited to submit innovative research proposals addressing one or more of the following core topic areas: 26HM-ESS (Efficient Safety Standards): Research to modernize safety standards and testing, streamline certification, leverage safety data, and evaluate risk landscapes to reduce regulatory burden while maintaining safety. 26HM-SST (Safe Energy Storage Technologies): Research assessing transportation risks of energy storage systems, battery chemistries, thermal runaway detection and mitigation, and critical mineral recovery. 26HM-IPG (Innovative Packaging): Development and evaluation of advanced packaging materials, containment designs, integrity monitoring, and predictive failure simulations. 26HM-RER (Risk Reduction for Emergency Response): Innovations, technologies, data analysis, and materials to enhance emergency responder safety, communication, and preparedness. 26HM-RTS (Hazardous Materials Rail Transportation Safety): Research advancing scientific understanding of rail tank car performance under derailment conditions, crashworthiness materials, thermal shielding, and predictive risk modeling. A two-phase selection process (Phase I: White Paper; Phase II: Invited Full Proposal) will be used. Awards will be procurement contracts (Firm-Fixed-Price or Cost-Reimbursement) up to $2,000,000 with a total performance period of up to 36 months. Full eligibility, formatting, and submission instructions are detailed in the solicitation document attached to this notice.
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