This bill, known as the Thermal Runaway Reduction Act of 2026, mandates the Secretary of Transportation to issue comprehensive regulations aimed at enhancing the safe commercial transportation of lithium-ion cells or batteries . Within two years, the Secretary must collaborate with the United Nations Subcommittee of Experts to revise design tests, developing an impact test for batteries in transport units to better withstand accident forces without experiencing thermal runaway. Furthermore, regulations will require lithium-ion batteries to be offered for commercial transport at a state of charge not exceeding 30 percent , with higher charges permitted only under specific approved conditions. The legislation also directs the Secretary to issue regulations or guidance on the safe transportation of damaged, defective, or recalled lithium-ion cells or batteries , including provisions for their packaging, movement, and disposal. These regulations and guidelines are subject to a five-year review cycle to ensure they remain current with emerging battery technologies that pose a risk of thermal runaway during transport. To foster innovation, the bill establishes a grant program, administered by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), to test and study the effectiveness of innovative technologies and methods to suppress thermal runaway . This PHMSA grant program will also investigate the impact of a battery's state of charge on suppression methods and develop techniques for emergency responders to verify the state of charge during incidents. Priority for these grants will be given to suppression technologies that are cost-effective and do not contain perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) . Finally, the bill creates a competitive grant program for volunteer or career fire departments, providing funding for essential equipment such as blankets and portable suppression agents, field-deployed diagnostics, environmental monitoring tools, and specialized containment systems for damaged batteries, thereby increasing access to critical thermal runaway suppression tools.