diff --git a/federationsender/queue/destinationqueue.go b/federationsender/queue/destinationqueue.go
index 29fef7059..31eeaebc5 100644
--- a/federationsender/queue/destinationqueue.go
+++ b/federationsender/queue/destinationqueue.go
@@ -35,6 +35,8 @@ import (
 const (
 	maxPDUsPerTransaction = 50
 	maxEDUsPerTransaction = 50
+	maxPDUsInMemory       = 128
+	maxEDUsInMemory       = 128
 	queueIdleTimeout      = time.Second * 30
 )
 
@@ -51,54 +53,56 @@ type destinationQueue struct {
 	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
-	transactionCount   atomic.Int32                        // how many events in this transaction so far
-	notifyPDUs         chan bool                           // interrupts idle wait for PDUs
-	notifyEDUs         chan bool                           // interrupts idle wait for EDUs
+	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
 }
 
 // Send event adds the event to the pending queue for the destination.
 // If the queue is empty then it starts a background goroutine to
 // start sending events to that destination.
-func (oq *destinationQueue) sendEvent(receipt *shared.Receipt) {
-	// Create a transaction ID. We'll either do this if we don't have
-	// one made up yet, or if we've exceeded the number of maximum
-	// events allowed in a single tranaction. We'll reset the counter
-	// when we do.
-	oq.transactionIDMutex.Lock()
-	if oq.transactionID == "" || oq.transactionCount.Load() >= maxPDUsPerTransaction {
-		now := gomatrixserverlib.AsTimestamp(time.Now())
-		oq.transactionID = gomatrixserverlib.TransactionID(fmt.Sprintf("%d-%d", now, oq.statistics.SuccessCount()))
-		oq.transactionCount.Store(0)
+func (oq *destinationQueue) sendEvent(event *gomatrixserverlib.HeaderedEvent, receipt *shared.Receipt) {
+	if event == nil {
+		log.Errorf("attempt to send nil PDU with destination %q", oq.destination)
+		return
 	}
-	oq.transactionIDMutex.Unlock()
 	// 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(),
-		oq.transactionID, // the current transaction ID
-		oq.destination,   // the destination server name
-		receipt,          // NIDs from federationsender_queue_json table
+		"",             // TODO: remove this, as we don't need to persist 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 receipt %q with destination %q", receipt.String(), oq.destination)
+		log.WithError(err).Errorf("failed to associate PDU %q with destination %q", event.EventID(), oq.destination)
 		return
 	}
-	// We've successfully added a PDU to the transaction so increase
-	// the counter.
-	oq.transactionCount.Add(1)
 	// 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()
-		// If we're blocking on waiting PDUs then tell the queue that we
-		// have work to do.
 		select {
-		case oq.notifyPDUs <- true:
+		case oq.notify <- struct{}{}:
 		default:
 		}
 	}
@@ -107,7 +111,11 @@ func (oq *destinationQueue) sendEvent(receipt *shared.Receipt) {
 // sendEDU adds the EDU event to the pending queue for the destination.
 // If the queue is empty then it starts a background goroutine to
 // start sending events to that destination.
-func (oq *destinationQueue) sendEDU(receipt *shared.Receipt) {
+func (oq *destinationQueue) sendEDU(event *gomatrixserverlib.EDU, receipt *shared.Receipt) {
+	if event == nil {
+		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
 	// later.
@@ -116,21 +124,28 @@ func (oq *destinationQueue) sendEDU(receipt *shared.Receipt) {
 		oq.destination, // the destination server name
 		receipt,        // NIDs from federationsender_queue_json table
 	); err != nil {
-		log.WithError(err).Errorf("failed to associate EDU receipt %q with destination %q", receipt.String(), oq.destination)
+		log.WithError(err).Errorf("failed to associate EDU with destination %q", oq.destination)
 		return
 	}
-	// We've successfully added an EDU to the transaction so increase
-	// the counter.
-	oq.transactionCount.Add(1)
 	// 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()
-		// If we're blocking on waiting EDUs then tell the queue that we
-		// have work to do.
 		select {
-		case oq.notifyEDUs <- true:
+		case oq.notify <- struct{}{}:
 		default:
 		}
 	}
@@ -152,48 +167,71 @@ func (oq *destinationQueue) wakeQueueIfNeeded() {
 	}
 }
 
-// waitForPDUs returns a channel for pending PDUs, which will be
-// used in backgroundSend select. It returns a closed channel if
-// there is something pending right now, or an open channel if
-// we're waiting for something.
-func (oq *destinationQueue) waitForPDUs() chan bool {
-	pendingPDUs, err := oq.db.GetPendingPDUCount(context.TODO(), oq.destination)
-	if err != nil {
-		log.WithError(err).Errorf("Failed to get pending PDU count on queue %q", oq.destination)
-	}
-	// If there are PDUs pending right now then we'll return a closed
-	// channel. This will mean that the backgroundSend will not block.
-	if pendingPDUs > 0 {
-		ch := make(chan bool, 1)
-		close(ch)
-		return ch
-	}
-	// If there are no PDUs pending right now then instead we'll return
-	// the notify channel, so that backgroundSend can pick up normal
-	// notifications from sendEvent.
-	return oq.notifyPDUs
-}
+// getPendingFromDatabase 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() {
+	// 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()
 
-// waitForEDUs returns a channel for pending EDUs, which will be
-// used in backgroundSend select. It returns a closed channel if
-// there is something pending right now, or an open channel if
-// we're waiting for something.
-func (oq *destinationQueue) waitForEDUs() chan bool {
-	pendingEDUs, err := oq.db.GetPendingEDUCount(context.TODO(), oq.destination)
-	if err != nil {
-		log.WithError(err).Errorf("Failed to get pending EDU count on queue %q", oq.destination)
+	// 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{}{}
 	}
-	// If there are EDUs pending right now then we'll return a closed
-	// channel. This will mean that the backgroundSend will not block.
-	if pendingEDUs > 0 {
-		ch := make(chan bool, 1)
-		close(ch)
-		return ch
+	for _, edu := range oq.pendingEDUs {
+		gotEDUs[edu.receipt.String()] = struct{}{}
+	}
+
+	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)
+	}
+	// If we've retrieved some events then notify the destination queue goroutine.
+	if retrieved {
+		select {
+		case oq.notify <- struct{}{}:
+		default:
+		}
 	}
-	// If there are no EDUs pending right now then instead we'll return
-	// the notify channel, so that backgroundSend can pick up normal
-	// notifications from sendEvent.
-	return oq.notifyEDUs
 }
 
 // backgroundSend is the worker goroutine for sending events.
@@ -206,25 +244,28 @@ func (oq *destinationQueue) backgroundSend() {
 	}
 	defer oq.running.Store(false)
 
+	// Mark the queue as overflowed, so we will consult the database
+	// to see if there's anything new to send.
+	oq.overflowed.Store(true)
+
 	for {
-		pendingPDUs, pendingEDUs := false, false
+		// 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()
+		}
 
 		// If we have nothing to do then wait either for incoming events, or
 		// until we hit an idle timeout.
 		select {
-		case <-oq.waitForPDUs():
-			// We were woken up because there are new PDUs waiting in the
-			// database.
-			pendingPDUs = true
-		case <-oq.waitForEDUs():
-			// We were woken up because there are new PDUs waiting in the
-			// database.
-			pendingEDUs = true
+		case <-oq.notify:
+			// There's work to do, either because getPendingFromDatabase
+			// told us there is, or because a new event has come in via
+			// sendEvent/sendEDU.
 		case <-time.After(queueIdleTimeout):
 			// The worker is idle so stop the goroutine. It'll get
 			// restarted automatically the next time we have an event to
 			// send.
-			log.Tracef("Queue %q has been idle for %s, going to sleep", oq.destination, queueIdleTimeout)
 			return
 		}
 
@@ -237,6 +278,16 @@ func (oq *destinationQueue) backgroundSend() {
 			// has exceeded a maximum allowable value. Clean up the in-memory
 			// 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.pendingEDUs {
+				oq.pendingEDUs[i] = nil
+			}
+			oq.pendingPDUs = nil
+			oq.pendingEDUs = nil
+			oq.pendingMutex.Unlock()
 			return
 		}
 		if until != nil && until.After(time.Now()) {
@@ -250,18 +301,41 @@ 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 eduCount > maxEDUsPerTransaction {
+			eduCount = maxEDUsPerTransaction
+		}
+		toSendPDUs := oq.pendingPDUs[:pduCount]
+		toSendEDUs := oq.pendingEDUs[:eduCount]
+		oq.pendingMutex.RUnlock()
+
 		// If we have pending PDUs or EDUs then construct a transaction.
-		if pendingPDUs || pendingEDUs {
-			// Try sending the next transaction and see what happens.
-			transaction, terr := oq.nextTransaction()
-			if terr != nil {
-				// We failed to send the transaction. Mark it as a failure.
-				oq.statistics.Failure()
-			} else if transaction {
-				// If we successfully sent the transaction then clear out
-				// the pending events and EDUs, and wipe our transaction ID.
-				oq.statistics.Success()
+		// Try sending the next transaction and see what happens.
+		transaction, pc, ec, terr := oq.nextTransaction(toSendPDUs, toSendEDUs)
+		if terr != nil {
+			// We failed to send the transaction. Mark it as a failure.
+			oq.statistics.Failure()
+
+		} else if transaction {
+			// If we successfully sent the transaction then clear out
+			// 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 oq.pendingEDUs[:ec] {
+				oq.pendingEDUs[i] = nil
+			}
+			oq.pendingPDUs = oq.pendingPDUs[pc:]
+			oq.pendingEDUs = oq.pendingEDUs[ec:]
+			oq.pendingMutex.Unlock()
 		}
 	}
 }
@@ -270,16 +344,20 @@ func (oq *destinationQueue) backgroundSend() {
 // queue and sends it. Returns true if a transaction was sent or
 // false otherwise.
 // nolint:gocyclo
-func (oq *destinationQueue) nextTransaction() (bool, error) {
-	// Before we do anything, we need to roll over the transaction
-	// ID that is being used to coalesce events into the next TX.
-	// Otherwise it's possible that we'll pick up an incomplete
-	// transaction and end up nuking the rest of the events at the
-	// cleanup stage.
+func (oq *destinationQueue) nextTransaction(
+	pdus []*queuedPDU,
+	edus []*queuedEDU,
+) (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
+	// it so that we retry with the same transaction ID.
 	oq.transactionIDMutex.Lock()
-	oq.transactionID = ""
+	if oq.transactionID == "" {
+		now := gomatrixserverlib.AsTimestamp(time.Now())
+		oq.transactionID = gomatrixserverlib.TransactionID(fmt.Sprintf("%d-%d", now, oq.statistics.SuccessCount()))
+	}
 	oq.transactionIDMutex.Unlock()
-	oq.transactionCount.Store(0)
 
 	// Create the transaction.
 	t := gomatrixserverlib.Transaction{
@@ -289,58 +367,36 @@ func (oq *destinationQueue) nextTransaction() (bool, error) {
 	t.Origin = oq.origin
 	t.Destination = oq.destination
 	t.OriginServerTS = gomatrixserverlib.AsTimestamp(time.Now())
-
-	// Ask the database for any pending PDUs from the next transaction.
-	// maxPDUsPerTransaction is an upper limit but we probably won't
-	// actually retrieve that many events.
-	ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), time.Second*5)
-	defer cancel()
-	txid, pdus, pduReceipt, err := oq.db.GetNextTransactionPDUs(
-		ctx,                   // context
-		oq.destination,        // server name
-		maxPDUsPerTransaction, // max events to retrieve
-	)
-	if err != nil {
-		log.WithError(err).Errorf("failed to get next transaction PDUs for server %q", oq.destination)
-		return false, fmt.Errorf("oq.db.GetNextTransactionPDUs: %w", err)
-	}
-
-	edus, eduReceipt, err := oq.db.GetNextTransactionEDUs(
-		ctx,                   // context
-		oq.destination,        // server name
-		maxEDUsPerTransaction, // max events to retrieve
-	)
-	if err != nil {
-		log.WithError(err).Errorf("failed to get next transaction EDUs for server %q", oq.destination)
-		return false, fmt.Errorf("oq.db.GetNextTransactionEDUs: %w", err)
-	}
+	t.TransactionID = oq.transactionID
 
 	// 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 {
-		return false, nil
+		return false, 0, 0, nil
 	}
 
-	// Pick out the transaction ID from the database. If we didn't
-	// get a transaction ID (i.e. because there are no PDUs but only
-	// EDUs) then generate a transaction ID.
-	t.TransactionID = txid
-	if t.TransactionID == "" {
-		now := gomatrixserverlib.AsTimestamp(time.Now())
-		t.TransactionID = gomatrixserverlib.TransactionID(fmt.Sprintf("%d-%d", now, oq.statistics.SuccessCount()))
-	}
+	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 {
+			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).JSON())
+		t.PDUs = append(t.PDUs, pdu.pdu.JSON())
+		pduReceipts = append(pduReceipts, pdu.receipt)
 	}
 
 	// Do the same for pending EDUS in the queue.
 	for _, edu := range edus {
-		t.EDUs = append(t.EDUs, *edu)
+		if edu == nil || edu.edu == nil {
+			continue
+		}
+		t.EDUs = append(t.EDUs, *edu.edu)
+		eduReceipts = append(eduReceipts, edu.receipt)
 	}
 
 	logrus.WithField("server_name", oq.destination).Debugf("Sending transaction %q containing %d PDUs, %d EDUs", t.TransactionID, len(t.PDUs), len(t.EDUs))
@@ -349,34 +405,38 @@ func (oq *destinationQueue) nextTransaction() (bool, error) {
 	// TODO: we should check for 500-ish fails vs 400-ish here,
 	// since we shouldn't queue things indefinitely in response
 	// to a 400-ish error
-	ctx, cancel = context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), time.Minute*5)
+	ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), time.Minute*5)
 	defer cancel()
-	_, err = oq.client.SendTransaction(ctx, t)
+	_, err := oq.client.SendTransaction(ctx, t)
 	switch err.(type) {
 	case nil:
 		// Clean up the transaction in the database.
-		if pduReceipt != nil {
+		if pduReceipts != nil {
 			//logrus.Infof("Cleaning PDUs %q", pduReceipt.String())
-			if err = oq.db.CleanPDUs(context.Background(), oq.destination, pduReceipt); err != nil {
-				log.WithError(err).Errorf("failed to clean PDUs %q for server %q", pduReceipt.String(), t.Destination)
+			if err = oq.db.CleanPDUs(context.Background(), oq.destination, pduReceipts); err != nil {
+				log.WithError(err).Errorf("Failed to clean PDUs for server %q", t.Destination)
 			}
 		}
-		if eduReceipt != nil {
+		if eduReceipts != nil {
 			//logrus.Infof("Cleaning EDUs %q", eduReceipt.String())
-			if err = oq.db.CleanEDUs(context.Background(), oq.destination, eduReceipt); err != nil {
-				log.WithError(err).Errorf("failed to clean EDUs %q for server %q", eduReceipt.String(), t.Destination)
+			if err = oq.db.CleanEDUs(context.Background(), oq.destination, eduReceipts); err != nil {
+				log.WithError(err).Errorf("Failed to clean EDUs for server %q", t.Destination)
 			}
 		}
-		return true, nil
+		// Reset the transaction ID.
+		oq.transactionIDMutex.Lock()
+		oq.transactionID = ""
+		oq.transactionIDMutex.Unlock()
+		return true, len(t.PDUs), len(t.EDUs), nil
 	case gomatrix.HTTPError:
 		// Report that we failed to send the transaction and we
 		// will retry again, subject to backoff.
-		return false, err
+		return false, 0, 0, err
 	default:
 		log.WithFields(log.Fields{
 			"destination": oq.destination,
 			log.ErrorKey:  err,
-		}).Info("problem sending transaction")
-		return false, err
+		}).Infof("Failed to send transaction %q", t.TransactionID)
+		return false, 0, 0, err
 	}
 }
diff --git a/federationsender/queue/queue.go b/federationsender/queue/queue.go
index d45af8686..da30e4de1 100644
--- a/federationsender/queue/queue.go
+++ b/federationsender/queue/queue.go
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ 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"
@@ -83,8 +84,8 @@ func NewOutgoingQueues(
 				log.WithError(err).Error("Failed to get EDU server names for destination queue hydration")
 			}
 			for serverName := range serverNames {
-				if !queues.getQueue(serverName).statistics.Blacklisted() {
-					queues.getQueue(serverName).wakeQueueIfNeeded()
+				if queue := queues.getQueue(serverName); !queue.statistics.Blacklisted() {
+					queue.wakeQueueIfNeeded()
 				}
 			}
 		})
@@ -100,6 +101,16 @@ 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()
@@ -112,8 +123,7 @@ func (oqs *OutgoingQueues) getQueue(destination gomatrixserverlib.ServerName) *d
 			destination:      destination,
 			client:           oqs.client,
 			statistics:       oqs.statistics.ForServer(destination),
-			notifyPDUs:       make(chan bool, 1),
-			notifyEDUs:       make(chan bool, 1),
+			notify:           make(chan struct{}, 1),
 			interruptBackoff: make(chan bool),
 			signing:          oqs.signing,
 		}
@@ -188,7 +198,7 @@ func (oqs *OutgoingQueues) SendEvent(
 	}
 
 	for destination := range destmap {
-		oqs.getQueue(destination).sendEvent(nid)
+		oqs.getQueue(destination).sendEvent(ev, nid)
 	}
 
 	return nil
@@ -258,7 +268,7 @@ func (oqs *OutgoingQueues) SendEDU(
 	}
 
 	for destination := range destmap {
-		oqs.getQueue(destination).sendEDU(nid)
+		oqs.getQueue(destination).sendEDU(e, nid)
 	}
 
 	return nil
diff --git a/federationsender/storage/interface.go b/federationsender/storage/interface.go
index a3f5073f9..03d616f1b 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
 
-	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
+	CleanPDUs(ctx context.Context, serverName gomatrixserverlib.ServerName, receipts []*shared.Receipt) error
+	CleanEDUs(ctx context.Context, serverName gomatrixserverlib.ServerName, receipts []*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 95a3b9eee..f9a477483 100644
--- a/federationsender/storage/postgres/queue_pdus_table.go
+++ b/federationsender/storage/postgres/queue_pdus_table.go
@@ -45,16 +45,10 @@ const insertQueuePDUSQL = "" +
 const deleteQueuePDUSQL = "" +
 	"DELETE FROM federationsender_queue_pdus WHERE server_name = $1 AND json_nid = ANY($2)"
 
-const selectQueuePDUNextTransactionIDSQL = "" +
-	"SELECT transaction_id FROM federationsender_queue_pdus" +
-	" WHERE server_name = $1" +
-	" ORDER BY transaction_id ASC" +
-	" LIMIT 1"
-
-const selectQueuePDUsByTransactionSQL = "" +
+const selectQueuePDUsSQL = "" +
 	"SELECT json_nid FROM federationsender_queue_pdus" +
-	" WHERE server_name = $1 AND transaction_id = $2" +
-	" LIMIT $3"
+	" WHERE server_name = $1" +
+	" LIMIT $2"
 
 const selectQueuePDUReferenceJSONCountSQL = "" +
 	"SELECT COUNT(*) FROM federationsender_queue_pdus" +
@@ -71,8 +65,7 @@ type queuePDUsStatements struct {
 	db                                   *sql.DB
 	insertQueuePDUStmt                   *sql.Stmt
 	deleteQueuePDUsStmt                  *sql.Stmt
-	selectQueuePDUNextTransactionIDStmt  *sql.Stmt
-	selectQueuePDUsByTransactionStmt     *sql.Stmt
+	selectQueuePDUsStmt                  *sql.Stmt
 	selectQueuePDUReferenceJSONCountStmt *sql.Stmt
 	selectQueuePDUsCountStmt             *sql.Stmt
 	selectQueuePDUServerNamesStmt        *sql.Stmt
@@ -92,10 +85,7 @@ func NewPostgresQueuePDUsTable(db *sql.DB) (s *queuePDUsStatements, err error) {
 	if s.deleteQueuePDUsStmt, err = s.db.Prepare(deleteQueuePDUSQL); err != nil {
 		return
 	}
-	if s.selectQueuePDUNextTransactionIDStmt, err = s.db.Prepare(selectQueuePDUNextTransactionIDSQL); err != nil {
-		return
-	}
-	if s.selectQueuePDUsByTransactionStmt, err = s.db.Prepare(selectQueuePDUsByTransactionSQL); err != nil {
+	if s.selectQueuePDUsStmt, err = s.db.Prepare(selectQueuePDUsSQL); err != nil {
 		return
 	}
 	if s.selectQueuePDUReferenceJSONCountStmt, err = s.db.Prepare(selectQueuePDUReferenceJSONCountSQL); err != nil {
@@ -137,18 +127,6 @@ 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) {
@@ -182,11 +160,10 @@ 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.selectQueuePDUsByTransactionStmt)
-	rows, err := stmt.QueryContext(ctx, serverName, transactionID, limit)
+	stmt := sqlutil.TxStmt(txn, s.selectQueuePDUsStmt)
+	rows, err := stmt.QueryContext(ctx, serverName, limit)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
diff --git a/federationsender/storage/shared/storage.go b/federationsender/storage/shared/storage.go
index af9d0d6a3..fbf84c705 100644
--- a/federationsender/storage/shared/storage.go
+++ b/federationsender/storage/shared/storage.go
@@ -17,7 +17,6 @@ package shared
 import (
 	"context"
 	"database/sql"
-	"encoding/json"
 	"fmt"
 
 	"github.com/matrix-org/dendrite/federationsender/storage/tables"
@@ -44,16 +43,11 @@ type Database struct {
 // to pass them back so that we can clean up if the transaction sends
 // successfully.
 type Receipt struct {
-	nids []int64
+	nid int64
 }
 
-func (e *Receipt) Empty() bool {
-	return len(e.nids) == 0
-}
-
-func (e *Receipt) String() string {
-	j, _ := json.Marshal(e.nids)
-	return string(j)
+func (r *Receipt) String() string {
+	return fmt.Sprintf("%d", r.nid)
 }
 
 // UpdateRoom updates the joined hosts for a room and returns what the joined
@@ -146,7 +140,7 @@ func (d *Database) StoreJSON(
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("d.insertQueueJSON: %w", err)
 	}
 	return &Receipt{
-		nids: []int64{nid},
+		nid: nid,
 	}, nil
 }
 
diff --git a/federationsender/storage/shared/storage_edus.go b/federationsender/storage/shared/storage_edus.go
index ae1d15118..86fee1a37 100644
--- a/federationsender/storage/shared/storage_edus.go
+++ b/federationsender/storage/shared/storage_edus.go
@@ -33,16 +33,14 @@ func (d *Database) AssociateEDUWithDestination(
 	receipt *Receipt,
 ) error {
 	return d.Writer.Do(d.DB, nil, func(txn *sql.Tx) error {
-		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)
-			}
+		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)
 		}
 		return nil
 	})
@@ -50,29 +48,25 @@ func (d *Database) AssociateEDUWithDestination(
 
 // GetNextTransactionEDUs retrieves events from the database for
 // the next pending transaction, up to the limit specified.
-func (d *Database) GetNextTransactionEDUs(
+func (d *Database) GetPendingEDUs(
 	ctx context.Context,
 	serverName gomatrixserverlib.ServerName,
 	limit int,
 ) (
-	edus []*gomatrixserverlib.EDU,
-	receipt *Receipt,
+	edus map[*Receipt]*gomatrixserverlib.EDU,
 	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 = append(edus, edu)
+				edus[&Receipt{nid}] = edu
 			} else {
 				retrieve = append(retrieve, nid)
 			}
@@ -83,12 +77,12 @@ func (d *Database) GetNextTransactionEDUs(
 			return fmt.Errorf("SelectQueueJSON: %w", err)
 		}
 
-		for _, blob := range blobs {
+		for nid, blob := range blobs {
 			var event gomatrixserverlib.EDU
 			if err := json.Unmarshal(blob, &event); err != nil {
 				return fmt.Errorf("json.Unmarshal: %w", err)
 			}
-			edus = append(edus, &event)
+			edus[&Receipt{nid}] = &event
 		}
 
 		return nil
@@ -101,19 +95,24 @@ func (d *Database) GetNextTransactionEDUs(
 func (d *Database) CleanEDUs(
 	ctx context.Context,
 	serverName gomatrixserverlib.ServerName,
-	receipt *Receipt,
+	receipts []*Receipt,
 ) error {
-	if receipt == nil {
+	if len(receipts) == 0 {
 		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, receipt.nids); err != nil {
+		if err := d.FederationSenderQueueEDUs.DeleteQueueEDUs(ctx, txn, serverName, nids); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
 
 		var deleteNIDs []int64
-		for _, nid := range receipt.nids {
+		for _, nid := range 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 09235a5ec..bc298a905 100644
--- a/federationsender/storage/shared/storage_pdus.go
+++ b/federationsender/storage/shared/storage_pdus.go
@@ -34,16 +34,14 @@ func (d *Database) AssociatePDUWithDestination(
 	receipt *Receipt,
 ) error {
 	return d.Writer.Do(d.DB, nil, func(txn *sql.Tx) error {
-		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)
-			}
+		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)
 		}
 		return nil
 	})
@@ -51,14 +49,12 @@ func (d *Database) AssociatePDUWithDestination(
 
 // GetNextTransactionPDUs retrieves events from the database for
 // the next pending transaction, up to the limit specified.
-func (d *Database) GetNextTransactionPDUs(
+func (d *Database) GetPendingPDUs(
 	ctx context.Context,
 	serverName gomatrixserverlib.ServerName,
 	limit int,
 ) (
-	transactionID gomatrixserverlib.TransactionID,
-	events []*gomatrixserverlib.HeaderedEvent,
-	receipt *Receipt,
+	events map[*Receipt]*gomatrixserverlib.HeaderedEvent,
 	err error,
 ) {
 	// Strictly speaking this doesn't need to be using the writer
@@ -66,29 +62,17 @@ func (d *Database) GetNextTransactionPDUs(
 	// 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 {
-		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)
+		nids, err := d.FederationSenderQueuePDUs.SelectQueuePDUs(ctx, txn, serverName, 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 = append(events, event)
+				events[&Receipt{nid}] = event
 			} else {
 				retrieve = append(retrieve, nid)
 			}
@@ -104,7 +88,7 @@ func (d *Database) GetNextTransactionPDUs(
 			if err := json.Unmarshal(blob, &event); err != nil {
 				return fmt.Errorf("json.Unmarshal: %w", err)
 			}
-			events = append(events, &event)
+			events[&Receipt{nid}] = &event
 			d.Cache.StoreFederationSenderQueuedPDU(nid, &event)
 		}
 
@@ -119,19 +103,24 @@ func (d *Database) GetNextTransactionPDUs(
 func (d *Database) CleanPDUs(
 	ctx context.Context,
 	serverName gomatrixserverlib.ServerName,
-	receipt *Receipt,
+	receipts []*Receipt,
 ) error {
-	if receipt == nil {
+	if len(receipts) == 0 {
 		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, receipt.nids); err != nil {
+		if err := d.FederationSenderQueuePDUs.DeleteQueuePDUs(ctx, txn, serverName, nids); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
 
 		var deleteNIDs []int64
-		for _, nid := range receipt.nids {
+		for _, nid := range 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 70519c9ef..e0fdbda5f 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 selectQueuePDUsByTransactionSQL = "" +
+const selectQueuePDUsSQL = "" +
 	"SELECT json_nid FROM federationsender_queue_pdus" +
-	" WHERE server_name = $1 AND transaction_id = $2" +
-	" LIMIT $3"
+	" WHERE server_name = $1" +
+	" LIMIT $2"
 
 const selectQueuePDUsReferenceJSONCountSQL = "" +
 	"SELECT COUNT(*) FROM federationsender_queue_pdus" +
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ type queuePDUsStatements struct {
 	db                                *sql.DB
 	insertQueuePDUStmt                *sql.Stmt
 	selectQueueNextTransactionIDStmt  *sql.Stmt
-	selectQueuePDUsByTransactionStmt  *sql.Stmt
+	selectQueuePDUsStmt               *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.selectQueuePDUsByTransactionStmt, err = db.Prepare(selectQueuePDUsByTransactionSQL); err != nil {
+	if s.selectQueuePDUsStmt, err = db.Prepare(selectQueuePDUsSQL); err != nil {
 		return
 	}
 	if s.selectQueueReferenceJSONCountStmt, err = db.Prepare(selectQueuePDUsReferenceJSONCountSQL); err != nil {
@@ -193,11 +193,10 @@ 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.selectQueuePDUsByTransactionStmt)
-	rows, err := stmt.QueryContext(ctx, serverName, transactionID, limit)
+	stmt := sqlutil.TxStmt(txn, s.selectQueuePDUsStmt)
+	rows, err := stmt.QueryContext(ctx, serverName, limit)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
diff --git a/federationsender/storage/tables/interface.go b/federationsender/storage/tables/interface.go
index 1167a212a..69e952de2 100644
--- a/federationsender/storage/tables/interface.go
+++ b/federationsender/storage/tables/interface.go
@@ -25,10 +25,9 @@ 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, transactionID gomatrixserverlib.TransactionID, limit int) ([]int64, error)
+	SelectQueuePDUs(ctx context.Context, txn *sql.Tx, serverName gomatrixserverlib.ServerName, limit int) ([]int64, error)
 	SelectQueuePDUServerNames(ctx context.Context, txn *sql.Tx) ([]gomatrixserverlib.ServerName, error)
 }