Google signs agreement to remove 50,000 tonnes of CO₂ with Vaulted Deep by 2030, certified by registry Isometric.
Partnership will pilot new methods for quantifying avoided methane emissions from organic waste.
Waste sector drives 40% of U.S. methane emissions; cutting them could save farmers up to $9 billion in lost crop yields annually.
A New Front in Carbon and Methane Management
Google is expanding its climate strategy with a partnership aimed at tackling two of the atmosphere’s most persistent problems: carbon dioxide removal and methane prevention. The company has signed a purchase agreement with Vaulted Deep to remove 50,000 tonnes of CO₂ by 2030, while also launching a joint effort to quantify avoided methane emissions from organic waste.
The CO₂ component will be verified by Isometric, one of the sector’s leading carbon removal registries. But the real test lies in methane, a superpollutant that traps about 80 times more heat than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period. Unlike CO₂, methane is difficult to measure consistently, leaving a major blind spot in climate accounting.
How Vaulted’s Technology Works
Vaulted’s system takes organic waste streams — from food scraps to agricultural byproducts — and injects them deep underground into geological formations. By removing these materials from the surface, the process prevents them from decomposing anaerobically and generating methane.
For communities where Vaulted operates, including Hutchinson, Kansas, the approach offers twin benefits: reduced climate risk and cleaner local air. Organic waste is a leading driver of ground-level ozone, which exacerbates asthma, damages crops, and erodes economic value in agriculture-dependent regions.
The Methane Challenge
Methane’s impact on both climate and health is disproportionate to its lifespan. While it breaks down faster than CO₂, its potency makes it a key contributor to near-term warming. In the U.S., the waste sector accounts for around 40% of methane emissions, with biosolids and farm residues generating especially high volumes.
In Colorado’s Front Range, methane emissions from agriculture combine with industrial nitrogen oxides to create some of the nation’s highest ozone levels. Research from Colorado State University shows more than half of methane emissions in the Denver-Julesburg Basin stem from farming. For farmers already managing tight margins, ozone’s impact is costly. Nationally, ozone pollution reduces corn yields by 10% and soybeans by 5%, cutting about $9 billion in annual crop value.
Why Methane is Hard to Measure
Quantifying CO₂ in waste is relatively straightforward. The carbon content of material can be tracked and verified against removal outcomes. Methane is more complex. Its formation depends on a wide range of variables: waste type, handling methods, moisture, temperature, and microbial activity. Without standard methods, methane prevention often remains uncounted in formal carbon accounting.
This uncertainty has left policymakers, financiers, and operators without reliable data to value methane mitigation. Google, Vaulted, and Isometric aim to change that by establishing rigorous measurement protocols. The partnership will align on scientific criteria, commission a detailed report, and share results openly to strengthen standards across the sector.
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Implications for Investors and Policymakers
For investors, the initiative expands the scope of measurable climate benefits in waste-to-carbon removal projects. Quantifying methane avoidance could unlock new investment pathways, particularly as regulatory frameworks such as the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act and the EU’s methane strategy push for stricter monitoring.
For policymakers, the effort provides a model for integrating methane into carbon accounting with greater precision. If successful, the methodology could help close a critical data gap in emissions inventories and support stronger compliance regimes.
Looking Ahead
The work in Hutchinson is a starting point, but the implications are global. Methane mitigation is one of the most effective levers available to slow warming this decade, and local benefits — from improved air quality to stronger agricultural resilience — amplify the case for action.
“Removing carbon is essential, but methane deserves the same level of scientific rigor,” Vaulted noted in a statement. “We know our process prevents methane from forming. Now we need to prove how much.”
For Google, the partnership builds on its earlier offtake agreements through Frontier Climate and reflects a broader commitment to advancing measurable, verifiable solutions. For the climate community, it represents a step toward filling one of the most significant gaps in greenhouse gas accounting.
The next phase will test whether this model can deliver not only permanent carbon removal but also reliable measurement of methane prevention. The outcome will shape how waste management is valued in climate markets — and how communities closest to these emissions see the benefits.
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