Inside Google’s Investments in Carbon Capture and Removal

As the urgency surrounding climate change intensifies, corporations are seeking scalable solutions to offset emissions that are difficult to eliminate. 

Google has positioned itself at the forefront of this movement, significantly increasing its investment in carbon dioxide removal. 

The tech giant's 2024 commitment — three times that of its 2023 investment — signals a firm belief in CDR’s role as a long-term decarbonisation strategy.

Since 2021, Google has steadily increased its involvement in CDR initiatives. Initially, it participated in Frontier, a buyers’ coalition supporting early-stage carbon removal start-ups. 

This was followed in March 2024 by a US$35m pledge to match funding from the US Department of Energy’s Carbon Dioxide Removal Purchase Pilot Prize, which focuses on high-durability solutions. 

The latest US$100m investment expands Google's portfolio, covering direct air capture (DAC), enhanced rock weathering (ERW) and biochar.

Where is the money going?

Google’s expanded commitment translates into tangible agreements with several CDR providers. 

One of the most significant deals includes a 200,000-tonne ERW contract with Terradot, marking the largest deal of its kind. 

The company has also signed a US$100 per tonne DAC credit deal with Holocene, fronting US$10m to scale up the technology. 

In addition, Google is supporting biochar innovators Charm and Varaha, both of which focus on converting agricultural waste into stable carbon forms.

Beyond these direct investments, Google is focused on restoring natural carbon sinks. 

The company co-founded Symbiosis, a corporate-backed initiative setting high standards for forestry projects, and funded CarbonRun, which works to restore the health of waterways while removing CO2. 

Google is also backing projects like CO280, which integrates carbon capture into existing industrial infrastructure, further diversifying its portfolio.

Doubling down on carbon removal

The scale of Google’s investment is driven in part by its ambitious climate targets. 

The company aims to achieve net zero emissions across its operations by 2030, a goal that requires addressing residual emissions from its supply chain and energy use. 

Traditional offsets, such as renewable energy certificates, are no longer sufficient, making CDR an attractive alternative.

However, Google’s investment is about more than just hitting climate targets. 

“Google’s net zero 2030 target demands scalable, measurable solutions for hard-to-abate emissions,” says Graham Bain, Principal Analyst at Enverus.

“But it isn’t just about offsets, it’s about market-building.”

As one of the few corporations making substantial purchases, Google is playing a role in de-risking the sector. 

With government support—such as 45Q tax credits in the US and growing procurement programmes—corporate buyers like Google stand to benefit from policy-driven incentives.

“While we’re encouraged by this initial progress, we’re keenly aware that this is just the beginning,” explains Randy Spock, Carbon Credits and Removals Lead at Google.

“We’re excited to keep expanding our support for carbon removal in 2025 - and we’ll remain open to novel ways of achieving high-scale, high-certainty impact on the atmosphere.”

What is preventing widespread CDR adoption?

Despite growing momentum, the CDR sector faces significant challenges. A key issue is market concentration. 

In 2024, just four major buyers — Microsoft, Google, Stripe and Frontier — accounted for 80% of all CDR purchases. 

This lack of diversification raises concerns about market stability and long-term scalability.

Delivery is another pressing issue. While corporations have committed substantial funds to CDR, actual removals have been limited. 

Only 4.4% of the total booked CDR was delivered in 2024, highlighting the difficulties in scaling these solutions from pilot projects to industrial-scale operations.

There are also those that believe the entire notion of CDR is controversial, such as climatologist Friederieke Otto.

“My feeling about CDR is that we should pretend it is not an option,” she says.

“We do not have a technology at the moment that works at scale.”

“CDR has already been used as an excuse to dither and delay.”

Google and its peers: Who else is investing?

Google is not the only major corporation backing CDR. Microsoft has been an even bigger player, accounting for 70% of all-time CDR purchases. 

Meanwhile, energy giants such as Chevron and Svante have invested US$100m to expand carbon capture in Canada, and Mitsubishi is supporting Heirloom’s limestone-based DAC technology. 

Even governments are getting involved, with Canada pledging US$10m for CDR procurement.

For businesses looking to engage in CDR, Google’s strategy offers key lessons: partnering early with technology providers, leveraging policy incentives and balancing portfolios between nature-based and engineered removals. 

While the sector still faces growing pains, Google's bet on CDR underscores its potential to become a trillion-dollar market by 2050.

Scaling up to gigaton levels

“As CDR scales from megatons to gigatons, the question isn’t if to invest, but how,” says Graham Bain, Principal Analyst at Enverus.

With demand growing and new technologies emerging, the industry must overcome cost barriers and expand supply chains to meet global decarbonisation needs. 

As one of the largest players in the space, Google is helping set the pace, but broader industry participation will be essential to drive CDR from megatons to gigatons.

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