diff --git a/federationsender/queue/destinationqueue.go b/federationsender/queue/destinationqueue.go
index 237e50829..76a237a47 100644
--- a/federationsender/queue/destinationqueue.go
+++ b/federationsender/queue/destinationqueue.go
@@ -33,11 +33,7 @@ import (
 )
 
 const (
-	maxPDUsPerTransaction = 50
-	maxEDUsPerTransaction = 50
-	maxPDUsInMemory       = 128
-	maxEDUsInMemory       = 128
-	queueIdleTimeout      = time.Second * 30
+	queueIdleTimeout = time.Second * 30
 )
 
 // destinationQueue is a queue of events for a single destination.
@@ -45,23 +41,24 @@ const (
 // ensures that only one request is in flight to a given destination
 // at a time.
 type destinationQueue struct {
-	db                 storage.Database
-	signing            *SigningInfo
-	rsAPI              api.RoomserverInternalAPI
-	client             *gomatrixserverlib.FederationClient // federation client
-	origin             gomatrixserverlib.ServerName        // origin of requests
-	destination        gomatrixserverlib.ServerName        // destination of requests
-	running            atomic.Bool                         // is the queue worker running?
-	backingOff         atomic.Bool                         // true if we're backing off
-	overflowed         atomic.Bool                         // the queues exceed maxPDUsInMemory/maxEDUsInMemory, so we should consult the database for more
-	statistics         *statistics.ServerStatistics        // statistics about this remote server
-	transactionIDMutex sync.Mutex                          // protects transactionID
-	transactionID      gomatrixserverlib.TransactionID     // last transaction ID if retrying, or "" if last txn was successful
-	notify             chan struct{}                       // interrupts idle wait pending PDUs/EDUs
-	pendingPDUs        []*queuedPDU                        // PDUs waiting to be sent
-	pendingEDUs        []*queuedEDU                        // EDUs waiting to be sent
-	pendingMutex       sync.RWMutex                        // protects pendingPDUs and pendingEDUs
-	interruptBackoff   chan bool                           // interrupts backoff
+	db                  storage.Database
+	signing             *SigningInfo
+	rsAPI               api.RoomserverInternalAPI
+	client              *gomatrixserverlib.FederationClient // federation client
+	origin              gomatrixserverlib.ServerName        // origin of requests
+	destination         gomatrixserverlib.ServerName        // destination of requests
+	running             atomic.Bool                         // is the queue worker running?
+	backingOff          atomic.Bool                         // true if we're backing off
+	overflowed          atomic.Bool                         // the queues exceed maxPDUsInMemory/maxEDUsInMemory, so we should consult the database for more
+	transactionID       gomatrixserverlib.TransactionID     // the ID to commit to the database with
+	transactionIDMutex  sync.RWMutex                        // protects transactionID
+	transactionPDUCount atomic.Int32                        // how many PDUs in database transaction?
+	transactionEDUCount atomic.Int32                        // how many EDUs in database transaction?
+	statistics          *statistics.ServerStatistics        // statistics about this remote server
+	notify              chan struct{}                       // interrupts idle wait pending PDUs/EDUs
+	pendingTransactions queuedTransactions                  // transactions waiting to be sent
+	pendingMutex        sync.RWMutex                        // protects pendingTransactions
+	interruptBackoff    chan bool                           // interrupts backoff
 }
 
 // Send event adds the event to the pending queue for the destination.
@@ -72,39 +69,55 @@ func (oq *destinationQueue) sendEvent(event *gomatrixserverlib.HeaderedEvent, re
 		log.Errorf("attempt to send nil PDU with destination %q", oq.destination)
 		return
 	}
+
+	// Try to queue the PDU up in memory. If there was enough free
+	// space then we'll get a transaction ID back.
+	oq.pendingMutex.Lock()
+	transactionID := oq.pendingTransactions.queuePDUs(receipt, event)
+	oq.pendingMutex.Unlock()
+
+	// Check if we got a transaction ID back.
+	if transactionID == "" {
+		// If we hit this point then we weren't able to fit the event
+		// into the memory cache, therefore we need to generate a new
+		// transaction ID to commit to the database. If we don't have
+		// a transaction ID for the database, or we've exceeded the
+		// number of PDUs we can fit in the last one, generate a new
+		// one.
+		oq.transactionIDMutex.Lock()
+		if oq.transactionID == "" || oq.transactionPDUCount.Load() > maxPDUsPerTransaction {
+			now := gomatrixserverlib.AsTimestamp(time.Now())
+			oq.transactionID = gomatrixserverlib.TransactionID(fmt.Sprintf("%d-%d", now, oq.statistics.SuccessCount()))
+			oq.transactionPDUCount.Store(0)
+			oq.transactionEDUCount.Store(0)
+			transactionID = oq.transactionID
+		}
+		oq.transactionIDMutex.Unlock()
+		oq.overflowed.Store(true)
+	}
+
 	// Create a database entry that associates the given PDU NID with
 	// this destination queue. We'll then be able to retrieve the PDU
 	// later.
 	if err := oq.db.AssociatePDUWithDestination(
 		context.TODO(),
-		"",             // TODO: remove this, as we don't need to persist the transaction ID
+		transactionID,  // the transaction ID
 		oq.destination, // the destination server name
 		receipt,        // NIDs from federationsender_queue_json table
 	); err != nil {
 		log.WithError(err).Errorf("failed to associate PDU %q with destination %q", event.EventID(), oq.destination)
 		return
 	}
-	// Check if the destination is blacklisted. If it isn't then wake
-	// up the queue.
-	if !oq.statistics.Blacklisted() {
-		// If there's room in memory to hold the event then add it to the
-		// list.
-		oq.pendingMutex.Lock()
-		if len(oq.pendingPDUs) < maxPDUsInMemory {
-			oq.pendingPDUs = append(oq.pendingPDUs, &queuedPDU{
-				pdu:     event,
-				receipt: receipt,
-			})
-		} else {
-			oq.overflowed.Store(true)
-		}
-		oq.pendingMutex.Unlock()
-		// Wake up the queue if it's asleep.
-		oq.wakeQueueIfNeeded()
-		select {
-		case oq.notify <- struct{}{}:
-		default:
-		}
+
+	// We've successfully added a PDU to the transaction so increase
+	// the counter.
+	oq.transactionPDUCount.Add(1)
+
+	// Wake up the queue.
+	oq.wakeQueueIfNeeded()
+	select {
+	case oq.notify <- struct{}{}:
+	default:
 	}
 }
 
@@ -116,38 +129,57 @@ func (oq *destinationQueue) sendEDU(event *gomatrixserverlib.EDU, receipt *share
 		log.Errorf("attempt to send nil EDU with destination %q", oq.destination)
 		return
 	}
-	// Create a database entry that associates the given PDU NID with
-	// this destination queue. We'll then be able to retrieve the PDU
+
+	// Try to queue the PDU up in memory. If there was enough free
+	// space then we'll get a transaction ID back.
+	oq.pendingMutex.Lock()
+	transactionID := oq.pendingTransactions.queueEDUs(receipt, event)
+	oq.pendingMutex.Unlock()
+
+	// Check if we got a transaction ID back.
+	if transactionID == "" {
+		// If we hit this point then we weren't able to fit the event
+		// into the memory cache, therefore we need to generate a new
+		// transaction ID to commit to the database. If we don't have
+		// a transaction ID for the database, or we've exceeded the
+		// number of PDUs we can fit in the last one, generate a new
+		// one.
+		/*
+			oq.transactionIDMutex.Lock()
+			if oq.transactionID == "" || oq.transactionPDUCount.Load() > maxPDUsPerTransaction {
+				now := gomatrixserverlib.AsTimestamp(time.Now())
+				oq.transactionID = gomatrixserverlib.TransactionID(fmt.Sprintf("%d-%d", now, oq.statistics.SuccessCount()))
+				oq.transactionPDUCount.Store(0)
+				oq.transactionEDUCount.Store(0)
+				transactionID = oq.transactionID
+			}
+			oq.transactionIDMutex.Unlock()
+		*/
+		oq.overflowed.Store(true)
+	}
+
+	// Create a database entry that associates the given EDU NID with
+	// this destination queue. We'll then be able to retrieve the EDU
 	// later.
 	if err := oq.db.AssociateEDUWithDestination(
 		context.TODO(),
+		//transactionID,  // the transaction ID
 		oq.destination, // the destination server name
 		receipt,        // NIDs from federationsender_queue_json table
 	); err != nil {
 		log.WithError(err).Errorf("failed to associate EDU with destination %q", oq.destination)
 		return
 	}
-	// Check if the destination is blacklisted. If it isn't then wake
-	// up the queue.
-	if !oq.statistics.Blacklisted() {
-		// If there's room in memory to hold the event then add it to the
-		// list.
-		oq.pendingMutex.Lock()
-		if len(oq.pendingEDUs) < maxEDUsInMemory {
-			oq.pendingEDUs = append(oq.pendingEDUs, &queuedEDU{
-				edu:     event,
-				receipt: receipt,
-			})
-		} else {
-			oq.overflowed.Store(true)
-		}
-		oq.pendingMutex.Unlock()
-		// Wake up the queue if it's asleep.
-		oq.wakeQueueIfNeeded()
-		select {
-		case oq.notify <- struct{}{}:
-		default:
-		}
+
+	// We've successfully added a PDU to the transaction so increase
+	// the counter.
+	oq.transactionEDUCount.Add(1)
+
+	// Wake up the queue.
+	oq.wakeQueueIfNeeded()
+	select {
+	case oq.notify <- struct{}{}:
+	default:
 	}
 }
 
@@ -167,66 +199,33 @@ func (oq *destinationQueue) wakeQueueIfNeeded() {
 	}
 }
 
-// getPendingFromDatabase will look at the database and see if
-// there are any persisted events that haven't been sent to this
+// getNextTransactionFromDatabase will look at the database and see
+// if there are any persisted events that haven't been sent to this
 // destination yet. If so, they will be queued up.
 // nolint:gocyclo
-func (oq *destinationQueue) getPendingFromDatabase() {
+func (oq *destinationQueue) getNextTransactionFromDatabase() {
 	// Check to see if there's anything to do for this server
 	// in the database.
-	retrieved := false
 	ctx := context.Background()
 	oq.pendingMutex.Lock()
 	defer oq.pendingMutex.Unlock()
 
-	// Take a note of all of the PDUs and EDUs that we already
-	// have cached. We will index them based on the receipt,
-	// which ultimately just contains the index of the PDU/EDU
-	// in the database.
-	gotPDUs := map[string]struct{}{}
-	gotEDUs := map[string]struct{}{}
-	for _, pdu := range oq.pendingPDUs {
-		gotPDUs[pdu.receipt.String()] = struct{}{}
-	}
-	for _, edu := range oq.pendingEDUs {
-		gotEDUs[edu.receipt.String()] = struct{}{}
+	transactionID, pdus, pduReceipt, err := oq.db.GetNextTransactionPDUs(ctx, oq.destination, maxPDUsPerTransaction)
+	if err != nil {
+		logrus.WithError(err).Errorf("Failed to get pending PDUs for %q", oq.destination)
 	}
 
-	if pduCapacity := maxPDUsInMemory - len(oq.pendingPDUs); pduCapacity > 0 {
-		// We have room in memory for some PDUs - let's request no more than that.
-		if pdus, err := oq.db.GetPendingPDUs(ctx, oq.destination, pduCapacity); err == nil {
-			for receipt, pdu := range pdus {
-				if _, ok := gotPDUs[receipt.String()]; ok {
-					continue
-				}
-				oq.pendingPDUs = append(oq.pendingPDUs, &queuedPDU{receipt, pdu})
-				retrieved = true
-			}
-		} else {
-			logrus.WithError(err).Errorf("Failed to get pending PDUs for %q", oq.destination)
-		}
-	}
-	if eduCapacity := maxEDUsInMemory - len(oq.pendingEDUs); eduCapacity > 0 {
-		// We have room in memory for some EDUs - let's request no more than that.
-		if edus, err := oq.db.GetPendingEDUs(ctx, oq.destination, eduCapacity); err == nil {
-			for receipt, edu := range edus {
-				if _, ok := gotEDUs[receipt.String()]; ok {
-					continue
-				}
-				oq.pendingEDUs = append(oq.pendingEDUs, &queuedEDU{receipt, edu})
-				retrieved = true
-			}
-		} else {
-			logrus.WithError(err).Errorf("Failed to get pending EDUs for %q", oq.destination)
-		}
-	}
-	// If we've retrieved all of the events from the database with room to spare
-	// in memory then we'll no longer consider this queue to be overflowed.
-	if len(oq.pendingPDUs) < maxPDUsInMemory && len(oq.pendingEDUs) < maxEDUsInMemory {
-		oq.overflowed.Store(false)
+	edus, eduReceipt, err := oq.db.GetNextTransactionEDUs(ctx, oq.destination, maxEDUsPerTransaction)
+	if err != nil {
+		logrus.WithError(err).Errorf("Failed to get pending EDUs for %q", oq.destination)
 	}
+
+	oq.pendingTransactions.createNew(transactionID)
+	oq.pendingTransactions.queuePDUs(pduReceipt, pdus...)
+	oq.pendingTransactions.queueEDUs(eduReceipt, edus...)
+
 	// If we've retrieved some events then notify the destination queue goroutine.
-	if retrieved {
+	if len(pdus) > 0 || len(edus) > 0 {
 		select {
 		case oq.notify <- struct{}{}:
 		default:
@@ -252,7 +251,7 @@ func (oq *destinationQueue) backgroundSend() {
 		// If we are overflowing memory and have sent things out to the
 		// database then we can look up what those things are.
 		if oq.overflowed.Load() {
-			oq.getPendingFromDatabase()
+			oq.getNextTransactionFromDatabase()
 		}
 
 		// If we have nothing to do then wait either for incoming events, or
@@ -279,14 +278,10 @@ func (oq *destinationQueue) backgroundSend() {
 			// buffers at this point. The PDU clean-up is already on a defer.
 			log.Warnf("Blacklisting %q due to exceeding backoff threshold", oq.destination)
 			oq.pendingMutex.Lock()
-			for i := range oq.pendingPDUs {
-				oq.pendingPDUs[i] = nil
+			for i := range oq.pendingTransactions.queue {
+				oq.pendingTransactions.queue[i] = nil
 			}
-			for i := range oq.pendingEDUs {
-				oq.pendingEDUs[i] = nil
-			}
-			oq.pendingPDUs = nil
-			oq.pendingEDUs = nil
+			oq.pendingTransactions.queue = nil
 			oq.pendingMutex.Lock()
 			return
 		}
@@ -303,21 +298,15 @@ func (oq *destinationQueue) backgroundSend() {
 
 		// Work out which PDUs/EDUs to include in the next transaction.
 		oq.pendingMutex.RLock()
-		pduCount := len(oq.pendingPDUs)
-		eduCount := len(oq.pendingEDUs)
-		if pduCount > maxPDUsPerTransaction {
-			pduCount = maxPDUsPerTransaction
+		if len(oq.pendingTransactions.queue) == 0 {
+			continue
 		}
-		if eduCount > maxEDUsPerTransaction {
-			eduCount = maxEDUsPerTransaction
-		}
-		toSendPDUs := oq.pendingPDUs[:pduCount]
-		toSendEDUs := oq.pendingEDUs[:eduCount]
+		next := oq.pendingTransactions.queue[0]
 		oq.pendingMutex.RUnlock()
 
 		// If we have pending PDUs or EDUs then construct a transaction.
 		// Try sending the next transaction and see what happens.
-		transaction, pc, ec, terr := oq.nextTransaction(toSendPDUs, toSendEDUs)
+		transaction, _, _, terr := oq.nextTransaction(next)
 		if terr != nil {
 			// We failed to send the transaction. Mark it as a failure.
 			oq.statistics.Failure()
@@ -327,14 +316,13 @@ func (oq *destinationQueue) backgroundSend() {
 			// the pending events and EDUs, and wipe our transaction ID.
 			oq.statistics.Success()
 			oq.pendingMutex.Lock()
-			for i := range oq.pendingPDUs[:pc] {
-				oq.pendingPDUs[i] = nil
+			for i := range next.pdus {
+				next.pdus[i] = nil
 			}
-			for i := range oq.pendingEDUs[:ec] {
-				oq.pendingEDUs[i] = nil
+			for i := range next.edus {
+				next.edus[i] = nil
 			}
-			oq.pendingPDUs = oq.pendingPDUs[pc:]
-			oq.pendingEDUs = oq.pendingEDUs[ec:]
+			oq.pendingTransactions.queue = oq.pendingTransactions.queue[1:]
 			oq.pendingMutex.Unlock()
 		}
 	}
@@ -344,10 +332,7 @@ func (oq *destinationQueue) backgroundSend() {
 // queue and sends it. Returns true if a transaction was sent or
 // false otherwise.
 // nolint:gocyclo
-func (oq *destinationQueue) nextTransaction(
-	pdus []*queuedPDU,
-	edus []*queuedEDU,
-) (bool, int, int, error) {
+func (oq *destinationQueue) nextTransaction(transaction *queuedTransaction) (bool, int, int, error) {
 	// If there's no projected transaction ID then generate one. If
 	// the transaction succeeds then we'll set it back to "" so that
 	// we generate a new one next time. If it fails, we'll preserve
@@ -371,32 +356,27 @@ func (oq *destinationQueue) nextTransaction(
 
 	// If we didn't get anything from the database and there are no
 	// pending EDUs then there's nothing to do - stop here.
-	if len(pdus) == 0 && len(edus) == 0 {
+	if len(transaction.pdus) == 0 && len(transaction.edus) == 0 {
 		return false, 0, 0, nil
 	}
 
-	var pduReceipts []*shared.Receipt
-	var eduReceipts []*shared.Receipt
-
 	// Go through PDUs that we retrieved from the database, if any,
 	// and add them into the transaction.
-	for _, pdu := range pdus {
-		if pdu == nil || pdu.pdu == nil {
+	for _, pdu := range transaction.pdus {
+		if pdu == nil {
 			continue
 		}
 		// Append the JSON of the event, since this is a json.RawMessage type in the
 		// gomatrixserverlib.Transaction struct
-		t.PDUs = append(t.PDUs, pdu.pdu.JSON())
-		pduReceipts = append(pduReceipts, pdu.receipt)
+		t.PDUs = append(t.PDUs, pdu.JSON())
 	}
 
 	// Do the same for pending EDUS in the queue.
-	for _, edu := range edus {
-		if edu == nil || edu.edu == nil {
+	for _, edu := range transaction.edus {
+		if edu == nil {
 			continue
 		}
-		t.EDUs = append(t.EDUs, *edu.edu)
-		eduReceipts = append(eduReceipts, edu.receipt)
+		t.EDUs = append(t.EDUs, *edu)
 	}
 
 	logrus.WithField("server_name", oq.destination).Debugf("Sending transaction %q containing %d PDUs, %d EDUs", t.TransactionID, len(t.PDUs), len(t.EDUs))
@@ -411,15 +391,15 @@ func (oq *destinationQueue) nextTransaction(
 	switch err.(type) {
 	case nil:
 		// Clean up the transaction in the database.
-		if pduReceipts != nil {
+		for _, receipt := range transaction.pduReceipts {
 			//logrus.Infof("Cleaning PDUs %q", pduReceipt.String())
-			if err = oq.db.CleanPDUs(context.Background(), oq.destination, pduReceipts); err != nil {
+			if err = oq.db.CleanPDUs(context.Background(), oq.destination, receipt); err != nil {
 				log.WithError(err).Errorf("Failed to clean PDUs for server %q", t.Destination)
 			}
 		}
-		if eduReceipts != nil {
+		for _, receipt := range transaction.eduReceipts {
 			//logrus.Infof("Cleaning EDUs %q", eduReceipt.String())
-			if err = oq.db.CleanEDUs(context.Background(), oq.destination, eduReceipts); err != nil {
+			if err = oq.db.CleanEDUs(context.Background(), oq.destination, receipt); err != nil {
 				log.WithError(err).Errorf("Failed to clean EDUs for server %q", t.Destination)
 			}
 		}
diff --git a/federationsender/queue/queue.go b/federationsender/queue/queue.go
index da30e4de1..c59752452 100644
--- a/federationsender/queue/queue.go
+++ b/federationsender/queue/queue.go
@@ -24,7 +24,6 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/matrix-org/dendrite/federationsender/statistics"
 	"github.com/matrix-org/dendrite/federationsender/storage"
-	"github.com/matrix-org/dendrite/federationsender/storage/shared"
 	"github.com/matrix-org/dendrite/roomserver/api"
 	"github.com/matrix-org/gomatrixserverlib"
 	log "github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
@@ -101,16 +100,6 @@ type SigningInfo struct {
 	PrivateKey ed25519.PrivateKey
 }
 
-type queuedPDU struct {
-	receipt *shared.Receipt
-	pdu     *gomatrixserverlib.HeaderedEvent
-}
-
-type queuedEDU struct {
-	receipt *shared.Receipt
-	edu     *gomatrixserverlib.EDU
-}
-
 func (oqs *OutgoingQueues) getQueue(destination gomatrixserverlib.ServerName) *destinationQueue {
 	oqs.queuesMutex.Lock()
 	defer oqs.queuesMutex.Unlock()
@@ -127,6 +116,7 @@ func (oqs *OutgoingQueues) getQueue(destination gomatrixserverlib.ServerName) *d
 			interruptBackoff: make(chan bool),
 			signing:          oqs.signing,
 		}
+		oq.pendingTransactions.statistics = oq.statistics
 		oqs.queues[destination] = oq
 	}
 	return oq
diff --git a/federationsender/queue/transactions.go b/federationsender/queue/transactions.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a9275885f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/federationsender/queue/transactions.go
@@ -0,0 +1,92 @@
+package queue
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/matrix-org/gomatrixserverlib"
+
+	"github.com/matrix-org/dendrite/federationsender/statistics"
+	"github.com/matrix-org/dendrite/federationsender/storage/shared"
+)
+
+const (
+	maxTransactionsInMemory = 4
+	maxPDUsPerTransaction   = 50
+	maxEDUsPerTransaction   = 50
+)
+
+type queuedTransaction struct {
+	id          gomatrixserverlib.TransactionID
+	pdus        []*gomatrixserverlib.HeaderedEvent
+	edus        []*gomatrixserverlib.EDU
+	pduReceipts []*shared.Receipt
+	eduReceipts []*shared.Receipt
+}
+
+type queuedTransactions struct {
+	statistics *statistics.ServerStatistics
+	queue      []*queuedTransaction
+}
+
+func (q *queuedTransactions) createNew(transactionID gomatrixserverlib.TransactionID) bool {
+	now := gomatrixserverlib.AsTimestamp(time.Now())
+	if len(q.queue) == maxTransactionsInMemory {
+		return false
+	}
+	if transactionID == "" {
+		transactionID = gomatrixserverlib.TransactionID(fmt.Sprintf("%d-%d", now, q.statistics.SuccessCount()))
+	}
+	q.queue = append(q.queue, &queuedTransaction{
+		id: transactionID,
+	})
+	return true
+}
+
+func (q *queuedTransactions) getNewestForPDU() *queuedTransaction {
+	if len(q.queue) == 0 || len(q.queue[len(q.queue)-1].pdus) == maxPDUsPerTransaction {
+		if len(q.queue) == maxTransactionsInMemory {
+			return nil
+		}
+		if !q.createNew("") {
+			return nil
+		}
+	}
+	return q.queue[len(q.queue)-1]
+}
+
+func (q *queuedTransactions) getNewestForEDU() *queuedTransaction {
+	if len(q.queue) == 0 || len(q.queue[len(q.queue)-1].edus) == maxEDUsPerTransaction {
+		if len(q.queue) == maxTransactionsInMemory {
+			return nil
+		}
+		if !q.createNew("") {
+			return nil
+		}
+	}
+	return q.queue[len(q.queue)-1]
+}
+
+func (q *queuedTransactions) queuePDUs(receipt *shared.Receipt, pdu ...*gomatrixserverlib.HeaderedEvent) gomatrixserverlib.TransactionID {
+	last := q.getNewestForPDU()
+	if last == nil {
+		return ""
+	}
+	last.pdus = append(last.pdus, pdu...)
+	if receipt != nil {
+		last.pduReceipts = append(last.pduReceipts, receipt)
+	}
+	return last.id
+}
+
+func (q *queuedTransactions) queueEDUs(receipt *shared.Receipt, edu ...*gomatrixserverlib.EDU) gomatrixserverlib.TransactionID {
+	last := q.getNewestForEDU()
+	if last == nil {
+		return ""
+	}
+	last.edus = append(last.edus, edu...)
+	if receipt != nil {
+		last.eduReceipts = append(last.eduReceipts, receipt)
+	}
+	return last.id
+}
diff --git a/federationsender/storage/interface.go b/federationsender/storage/interface.go
index 03d616f1b..a3f5073f9 100644
--- a/federationsender/storage/interface.go
+++ b/federationsender/storage/interface.go
@@ -36,14 +36,14 @@ type Database interface {
 
 	StoreJSON(ctx context.Context, js string) (*shared.Receipt, error)
 
-	GetPendingPDUs(ctx context.Context, serverName gomatrixserverlib.ServerName, limit int) (pdus map[*shared.Receipt]*gomatrixserverlib.HeaderedEvent, err error)
-	GetPendingEDUs(ctx context.Context, serverName gomatrixserverlib.ServerName, limit int) (edus map[*shared.Receipt]*gomatrixserverlib.EDU, err error)
-
 	AssociatePDUWithDestination(ctx context.Context, transactionID gomatrixserverlib.TransactionID, serverName gomatrixserverlib.ServerName, receipt *shared.Receipt) error
 	AssociateEDUWithDestination(ctx context.Context, serverName gomatrixserverlib.ServerName, receipt *shared.Receipt) error
 
-	CleanPDUs(ctx context.Context, serverName gomatrixserverlib.ServerName, receipts []*shared.Receipt) error
-	CleanEDUs(ctx context.Context, serverName gomatrixserverlib.ServerName, receipts []*shared.Receipt) error
+	GetNextTransactionPDUs(ctx context.Context, serverName gomatrixserverlib.ServerName, limit int) (gomatrixserverlib.TransactionID, []*gomatrixserverlib.HeaderedEvent, *shared.Receipt, error)
+	GetNextTransactionEDUs(ctx context.Context, serverName gomatrixserverlib.ServerName, limit int) ([]*gomatrixserverlib.EDU, *shared.Receipt, error)
+
+	CleanPDUs(ctx context.Context, serverName gomatrixserverlib.ServerName, receipt *shared.Receipt) error
+	CleanEDUs(ctx context.Context, serverName gomatrixserverlib.ServerName, receipt *shared.Receipt) error
 
 	GetPendingPDUCount(ctx context.Context, serverName gomatrixserverlib.ServerName) (int64, error)
 	GetPendingEDUCount(ctx context.Context, serverName gomatrixserverlib.ServerName) (int64, error)
diff --git a/federationsender/storage/postgres/queue_pdus_table.go b/federationsender/storage/postgres/queue_pdus_table.go
index f9a477483..95a3b9eee 100644
--- a/federationsender/storage/postgres/queue_pdus_table.go
+++ b/federationsender/storage/postgres/queue_pdus_table.go
@@ -45,10 +45,16 @@ const insertQueuePDUSQL = "" +
 const deleteQueuePDUSQL = "" +
 	"DELETE FROM federationsender_queue_pdus WHERE server_name = $1 AND json_nid = ANY($2)"
 
-const selectQueuePDUsSQL = "" +
-	"SELECT json_nid FROM federationsender_queue_pdus" +
+const selectQueuePDUNextTransactionIDSQL = "" +
+	"SELECT transaction_id FROM federationsender_queue_pdus" +
 	" WHERE server_name = $1" +
-	" LIMIT $2"
+	" ORDER BY transaction_id ASC" +
+	" LIMIT 1"
+
+const selectQueuePDUsByTransactionSQL = "" +
+	"SELECT json_nid FROM federationsender_queue_pdus" +
+	" WHERE server_name = $1 AND transaction_id = $2" +
+	" LIMIT $3"
 
 const selectQueuePDUReferenceJSONCountSQL = "" +
 	"SELECT COUNT(*) FROM federationsender_queue_pdus" +
@@ -65,7 +71,8 @@ type queuePDUsStatements struct {
 	db                                   *sql.DB
 	insertQueuePDUStmt                   *sql.Stmt
 	deleteQueuePDUsStmt                  *sql.Stmt
-	selectQueuePDUsStmt                  *sql.Stmt
+	selectQueuePDUNextTransactionIDStmt  *sql.Stmt
+	selectQueuePDUsByTransactionStmt     *sql.Stmt
 	selectQueuePDUReferenceJSONCountStmt *sql.Stmt
 	selectQueuePDUsCountStmt             *sql.Stmt
 	selectQueuePDUServerNamesStmt        *sql.Stmt
@@ -85,7 +92,10 @@ func NewPostgresQueuePDUsTable(db *sql.DB) (s *queuePDUsStatements, err error) {
 	if s.deleteQueuePDUsStmt, err = s.db.Prepare(deleteQueuePDUSQL); err != nil {
 		return
 	}
-	if s.selectQueuePDUsStmt, err = s.db.Prepare(selectQueuePDUsSQL); err != nil {
+	if s.selectQueuePDUNextTransactionIDStmt, err = s.db.Prepare(selectQueuePDUNextTransactionIDSQL); err != nil {
+		return
+	}
+	if s.selectQueuePDUsByTransactionStmt, err = s.db.Prepare(selectQueuePDUsByTransactionSQL); err != nil {
 		return
 	}
 	if s.selectQueuePDUReferenceJSONCountStmt, err = s.db.Prepare(selectQueuePDUReferenceJSONCountSQL); err != nil {
@@ -127,6 +137,18 @@ func (s *queuePDUsStatements) DeleteQueuePDUs(
 	return err
 }
 
+func (s *queuePDUsStatements) SelectQueuePDUNextTransactionID(
+	ctx context.Context, txn *sql.Tx, serverName gomatrixserverlib.ServerName,
+) (gomatrixserverlib.TransactionID, error) {
+	var transactionID gomatrixserverlib.TransactionID
+	stmt := sqlutil.TxStmt(txn, s.selectQueuePDUNextTransactionIDStmt)
+	err := stmt.QueryRowContext(ctx, serverName).Scan(&transactionID)
+	if err == sql.ErrNoRows {
+		return "", nil
+	}
+	return transactionID, err
+}
+
 func (s *queuePDUsStatements) SelectQueuePDUReferenceJSONCount(
 	ctx context.Context, txn *sql.Tx, jsonNID int64,
 ) (int64, error) {
@@ -160,10 +182,11 @@ func (s *queuePDUsStatements) SelectQueuePDUCount(
 func (s *queuePDUsStatements) SelectQueuePDUs(
 	ctx context.Context, txn *sql.Tx,
 	serverName gomatrixserverlib.ServerName,
+	transactionID gomatrixserverlib.TransactionID,
 	limit int,
 ) ([]int64, error) {
-	stmt := sqlutil.TxStmt(txn, s.selectQueuePDUsStmt)
-	rows, err := stmt.QueryContext(ctx, serverName, limit)
+	stmt := sqlutil.TxStmt(txn, s.selectQueuePDUsByTransactionStmt)
+	rows, err := stmt.QueryContext(ctx, serverName, transactionID, limit)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
diff --git a/federationsender/storage/shared/storage.go b/federationsender/storage/shared/storage.go
index fbf84c705..af9d0d6a3 100644
--- a/federationsender/storage/shared/storage.go
+++ b/federationsender/storage/shared/storage.go
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ package shared
 import (
 	"context"
 	"database/sql"
+	"encoding/json"
 	"fmt"
 
 	"github.com/matrix-org/dendrite/federationsender/storage/tables"
@@ -43,11 +44,16 @@ type Database struct {
 // to pass them back so that we can clean up if the transaction sends
 // successfully.
 type Receipt struct {
-	nid int64
+	nids []int64
 }
 
-func (r *Receipt) String() string {
-	return fmt.Sprintf("%d", r.nid)
+func (e *Receipt) Empty() bool {
+	return len(e.nids) == 0
+}
+
+func (e *Receipt) String() string {
+	j, _ := json.Marshal(e.nids)
+	return string(j)
 }
 
 // UpdateRoom updates the joined hosts for a room and returns what the joined
@@ -140,7 +146,7 @@ func (d *Database) StoreJSON(
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("d.insertQueueJSON: %w", err)
 	}
 	return &Receipt{
-		nid: nid,
+		nids: []int64{nid},
 	}, nil
 }
 
diff --git a/federationsender/storage/shared/storage_edus.go b/federationsender/storage/shared/storage_edus.go
index 86fee1a37..ae1d15118 100644
--- a/federationsender/storage/shared/storage_edus.go
+++ b/federationsender/storage/shared/storage_edus.go
@@ -33,14 +33,16 @@ func (d *Database) AssociateEDUWithDestination(
 	receipt *Receipt,
 ) error {
 	return d.Writer.Do(d.DB, nil, func(txn *sql.Tx) error {
-		if err := d.FederationSenderQueueEDUs.InsertQueueEDU(
-			ctx,         // context
-			txn,         // SQL transaction
-			"",          // TODO: EDU type for coalescing
-			serverName,  // destination server name
-			receipt.nid, // NID from the federationsender_queue_json table
-		); err != nil {
-			return fmt.Errorf("InsertQueueEDU: %w", err)
+		for _, nid := range receipt.nids {
+			if err := d.FederationSenderQueueEDUs.InsertQueueEDU(
+				ctx,        // context
+				txn,        // SQL transaction
+				"",         // TODO: EDU type for coalescing
+				serverName, // destination server name
+				nid,        // NID from the federationsender_queue_json table
+			); err != nil {
+				return fmt.Errorf("InsertQueueEDU: %w", err)
+			}
 		}
 		return nil
 	})
@@ -48,25 +50,29 @@ func (d *Database) AssociateEDUWithDestination(
 
 // GetNextTransactionEDUs retrieves events from the database for
 // the next pending transaction, up to the limit specified.
-func (d *Database) GetPendingEDUs(
+func (d *Database) GetNextTransactionEDUs(
 	ctx context.Context,
 	serverName gomatrixserverlib.ServerName,
 	limit int,
 ) (
-	edus map[*Receipt]*gomatrixserverlib.EDU,
+	edus []*gomatrixserverlib.EDU,
+	receipt *Receipt,
 	err error,
 ) {
-	edus = make(map[*Receipt]*gomatrixserverlib.EDU)
 	err = d.Writer.Do(d.DB, nil, func(txn *sql.Tx) error {
 		nids, err := d.FederationSenderQueueEDUs.SelectQueueEDUs(ctx, txn, serverName, limit)
 		if err != nil {
 			return fmt.Errorf("SelectQueueEDUs: %w", err)
 		}
 
+		receipt = &Receipt{
+			nids: nids,
+		}
+
 		retrieve := make([]int64, 0, len(nids))
 		for _, nid := range nids {
 			if edu, ok := d.Cache.GetFederationSenderQueuedEDU(nid); ok {
-				edus[&Receipt{nid}] = edu
+				edus = append(edus, edu)
 			} else {
 				retrieve = append(retrieve, nid)
 			}
@@ -77,12 +83,12 @@ func (d *Database) GetPendingEDUs(
 			return fmt.Errorf("SelectQueueJSON: %w", err)
 		}
 
-		for nid, blob := range blobs {
+		for _, blob := range blobs {
 			var event gomatrixserverlib.EDU
 			if err := json.Unmarshal(blob, &event); err != nil {
 				return fmt.Errorf("json.Unmarshal: %w", err)
 			}
-			edus[&Receipt{nid}] = &event
+			edus = append(edus, &event)
 		}
 
 		return nil
@@ -95,24 +101,19 @@ func (d *Database) GetPendingEDUs(
 func (d *Database) CleanEDUs(
 	ctx context.Context,
 	serverName gomatrixserverlib.ServerName,
-	receipts []*Receipt,
+	receipt *Receipt,
 ) error {
-	if len(receipts) == 0 {
+	if receipt == nil {
 		return errors.New("expected receipt")
 	}
 
-	nids := make([]int64, len(receipts))
-	for i := range receipts {
-		nids[i] = receipts[i].nid
-	}
-
 	return d.Writer.Do(d.DB, nil, func(txn *sql.Tx) error {
-		if err := d.FederationSenderQueueEDUs.DeleteQueueEDUs(ctx, txn, serverName, nids); err != nil {
+		if err := d.FederationSenderQueueEDUs.DeleteQueueEDUs(ctx, txn, serverName, receipt.nids); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
 
 		var deleteNIDs []int64
-		for _, nid := range nids {
+		for _, nid := range receipt.nids {
 			count, err := d.FederationSenderQueueEDUs.SelectQueueEDUReferenceJSONCount(ctx, txn, nid)
 			if err != nil {
 				return fmt.Errorf("SelectQueueEDUReferenceJSONCount: %w", err)
diff --git a/federationsender/storage/shared/storage_pdus.go b/federationsender/storage/shared/storage_pdus.go
index bc298a905..09235a5ec 100644
--- a/federationsender/storage/shared/storage_pdus.go
+++ b/federationsender/storage/shared/storage_pdus.go
@@ -34,14 +34,16 @@ func (d *Database) AssociatePDUWithDestination(
 	receipt *Receipt,
 ) error {
 	return d.Writer.Do(d.DB, nil, func(txn *sql.Tx) error {
-		if err := d.FederationSenderQueuePDUs.InsertQueuePDU(
-			ctx,           // context
-			txn,           // SQL transaction
-			transactionID, // transaction ID
-			serverName,    // destination server name
-			receipt.nid,   // NID from the federationsender_queue_json table
-		); err != nil {
-			return fmt.Errorf("InsertQueuePDU: %w", err)
+		for _, nid := range receipt.nids {
+			if err := d.FederationSenderQueuePDUs.InsertQueuePDU(
+				ctx,           // context
+				txn,           // SQL transaction
+				transactionID, // transaction ID
+				serverName,    // destination server name
+				nid,           // NID from the federationsender_queue_json table
+			); err != nil {
+				return fmt.Errorf("InsertQueuePDU: %w", err)
+			}
 		}
 		return nil
 	})
@@ -49,12 +51,14 @@ func (d *Database) AssociatePDUWithDestination(
 
 // GetNextTransactionPDUs retrieves events from the database for
 // the next pending transaction, up to the limit specified.
-func (d *Database) GetPendingPDUs(
+func (d *Database) GetNextTransactionPDUs(
 	ctx context.Context,
 	serverName gomatrixserverlib.ServerName,
 	limit int,
 ) (
-	events map[*Receipt]*gomatrixserverlib.HeaderedEvent,
+	transactionID gomatrixserverlib.TransactionID,
+	events []*gomatrixserverlib.HeaderedEvent,
+	receipt *Receipt,
 	err error,
 ) {
 	// Strictly speaking this doesn't need to be using the writer
@@ -62,17 +66,29 @@ func (d *Database) GetPendingPDUs(
 	// a guarantee of transactional isolation, it's actually useful
 	// to know in SQLite mode that nothing else is trying to modify
 	// the database.
-	events = make(map[*Receipt]*gomatrixserverlib.HeaderedEvent)
 	err = d.Writer.Do(d.DB, nil, func(txn *sql.Tx) error {
-		nids, err := d.FederationSenderQueuePDUs.SelectQueuePDUs(ctx, txn, serverName, limit)
+		transactionID, err = d.FederationSenderQueuePDUs.SelectQueuePDUNextTransactionID(ctx, txn, serverName)
+		if err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("SelectQueuePDUNextTransactionID: %w", err)
+		}
+
+		if transactionID == "" {
+			return nil
+		}
+
+		nids, err := d.FederationSenderQueuePDUs.SelectQueuePDUs(ctx, txn, serverName, transactionID, limit)
 		if err != nil {
 			return fmt.Errorf("SelectQueuePDUs: %w", err)
 		}
 
+		receipt = &Receipt{
+			nids: nids,
+		}
+
 		retrieve := make([]int64, 0, len(nids))
 		for _, nid := range nids {
 			if event, ok := d.Cache.GetFederationSenderQueuedPDU(nid); ok {
-				events[&Receipt{nid}] = event
+				events = append(events, event)
 			} else {
 				retrieve = append(retrieve, nid)
 			}
@@ -88,7 +104,7 @@ func (d *Database) GetPendingPDUs(
 			if err := json.Unmarshal(blob, &event); err != nil {
 				return fmt.Errorf("json.Unmarshal: %w", err)
 			}
-			events[&Receipt{nid}] = &event
+			events = append(events, &event)
 			d.Cache.StoreFederationSenderQueuedPDU(nid, &event)
 		}
 
@@ -103,24 +119,19 @@ func (d *Database) GetPendingPDUs(
 func (d *Database) CleanPDUs(
 	ctx context.Context,
 	serverName gomatrixserverlib.ServerName,
-	receipts []*Receipt,
+	receipt *Receipt,
 ) error {
-	if len(receipts) == 0 {
+	if receipt == nil {
 		return errors.New("expected receipt")
 	}
 
-	nids := make([]int64, len(receipts))
-	for i := range receipts {
-		nids[i] = receipts[i].nid
-	}
-
 	return d.Writer.Do(d.DB, nil, func(txn *sql.Tx) error {
-		if err := d.FederationSenderQueuePDUs.DeleteQueuePDUs(ctx, txn, serverName, nids); err != nil {
+		if err := d.FederationSenderQueuePDUs.DeleteQueuePDUs(ctx, txn, serverName, receipt.nids); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
 
 		var deleteNIDs []int64
-		for _, nid := range nids {
+		for _, nid := range receipt.nids {
 			count, err := d.FederationSenderQueuePDUs.SelectQueuePDUReferenceJSONCount(ctx, txn, nid)
 			if err != nil {
 				return fmt.Errorf("SelectQueuePDUReferenceJSONCount: %w", err)
diff --git a/federationsender/storage/sqlite3/queue_pdus_table.go b/federationsender/storage/sqlite3/queue_pdus_table.go
index e0fdbda5f..70519c9ef 100644
--- a/federationsender/storage/sqlite3/queue_pdus_table.go
+++ b/federationsender/storage/sqlite3/queue_pdus_table.go
@@ -53,10 +53,10 @@ const selectQueueNextTransactionIDSQL = "" +
 	" ORDER BY transaction_id ASC" +
 	" LIMIT 1"
 
-const selectQueuePDUsSQL = "" +
+const selectQueuePDUsByTransactionSQL = "" +
 	"SELECT json_nid FROM federationsender_queue_pdus" +
-	" WHERE server_name = $1" +
-	" LIMIT $2"
+	" WHERE server_name = $1 AND transaction_id = $2" +
+	" LIMIT $3"
 
 const selectQueuePDUsReferenceJSONCountSQL = "" +
 	"SELECT COUNT(*) FROM federationsender_queue_pdus" +
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ type queuePDUsStatements struct {
 	db                                *sql.DB
 	insertQueuePDUStmt                *sql.Stmt
 	selectQueueNextTransactionIDStmt  *sql.Stmt
-	selectQueuePDUsStmt               *sql.Stmt
+	selectQueuePDUsByTransactionStmt  *sql.Stmt
 	selectQueueReferenceJSONCountStmt *sql.Stmt
 	selectQueuePDUsCountStmt          *sql.Stmt
 	selectQueueServerNamesStmt        *sql.Stmt
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@ func NewSQLiteQueuePDUsTable(db *sql.DB) (s *queuePDUsStatements, err error) {
 	if s.selectQueueNextTransactionIDStmt, err = db.Prepare(selectQueueNextTransactionIDSQL); err != nil {
 		return
 	}
-	if s.selectQueuePDUsStmt, err = db.Prepare(selectQueuePDUsSQL); err != nil {
+	if s.selectQueuePDUsByTransactionStmt, err = db.Prepare(selectQueuePDUsByTransactionSQL); err != nil {
 		return
 	}
 	if s.selectQueueReferenceJSONCountStmt, err = db.Prepare(selectQueuePDUsReferenceJSONCountSQL); err != nil {
@@ -193,10 +193,11 @@ func (s *queuePDUsStatements) SelectQueuePDUCount(
 func (s *queuePDUsStatements) SelectQueuePDUs(
 	ctx context.Context, txn *sql.Tx,
 	serverName gomatrixserverlib.ServerName,
+	transactionID gomatrixserverlib.TransactionID,
 	limit int,
 ) ([]int64, error) {
-	stmt := sqlutil.TxStmt(txn, s.selectQueuePDUsStmt)
-	rows, err := stmt.QueryContext(ctx, serverName, limit)
+	stmt := sqlutil.TxStmt(txn, s.selectQueuePDUsByTransactionStmt)
+	rows, err := stmt.QueryContext(ctx, serverName, transactionID, limit)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
diff --git a/federationsender/storage/tables/interface.go b/federationsender/storage/tables/interface.go
index 69e952de2..1167a212a 100644
--- a/federationsender/storage/tables/interface.go
+++ b/federationsender/storage/tables/interface.go
@@ -25,9 +25,10 @@ import (
 type FederationSenderQueuePDUs interface {
 	InsertQueuePDU(ctx context.Context, txn *sql.Tx, transactionID gomatrixserverlib.TransactionID, serverName gomatrixserverlib.ServerName, nid int64) error
 	DeleteQueuePDUs(ctx context.Context, txn *sql.Tx, serverName gomatrixserverlib.ServerName, jsonNIDs []int64) error
+	SelectQueuePDUNextTransactionID(ctx context.Context, txn *sql.Tx, serverName gomatrixserverlib.ServerName) (gomatrixserverlib.TransactionID, error)
 	SelectQueuePDUReferenceJSONCount(ctx context.Context, txn *sql.Tx, jsonNID int64) (int64, error)
 	SelectQueuePDUCount(ctx context.Context, txn *sql.Tx, serverName gomatrixserverlib.ServerName) (int64, error)
-	SelectQueuePDUs(ctx context.Context, txn *sql.Tx, serverName gomatrixserverlib.ServerName, limit int) ([]int64, error)
+	SelectQueuePDUs(ctx context.Context, txn *sql.Tx, serverName gomatrixserverlib.ServerName, transactionID gomatrixserverlib.TransactionID, limit int) ([]int64, error)
 	SelectQueuePDUServerNames(ctx context.Context, txn *sql.Tx) ([]gomatrixserverlib.ServerName, error)
 }