How are Google & Vaulted Deep Removing 50,000 Tonnes of CO₂?

The World Economic Forum predicts that climate change commitments are only projected to reduce emissions by 7.5% by 2030, a statistic that is hugely below the needed 55%.

In light of this, Google is collaborating with Vaulted Deep with two key goals - the pair are aiming to permanently remove CO₂ and eliminate methane emissions from waste via underground storage.

A carbon capturing partnership

Vaulted Deep is a waste management company, known for removing carbon via underground injection.

The company injects organic waste, which would otherwise release CO₂ and methane, deep underground where it is permanently stored. 

Google has signed a purchase agreement with Vaulted Deep to remove 50,000 tonnes of  CO₂ by 2030 – certified by leading registry Isometric.

Together, the companies will aim on working to explore how the methane emissions eliminated through this process can be quantified.

The collaboration is set to help reduce local pollution and strengthen the economy in communities where Vaulted operates, starting in Hutchinson, Kansas.

The partnership aims to build on Google’s efforts to mitigate the impacts of superpollutants like methane.

According to the Environmental Defense Fund, methane warms the planet 80 times more powerfully than CO₂ in the near term.

“Many factors affect how much methane forms during decomposition, making emissions challenging to measure,” writes Randy Spock, Carbon Credits and Removals Lead at Google, on LinkedIn.

“Our collaboration will tackle that challenge. 

“We’ll work with highly qualified external reviewers, openly share the results of our investigation and explain how this affects our understanding of how to help our atmosphere in the near and long term.”

Inside Vaulted Deep’s underground storage

Vaulted Deep tackles carbon removal by safely and permanently storing organic waste deep underground. 

The company takes excess materials such as manure, treated sewage, paper sludge and agricultural byproducts, substances that would otherwise decompose and release harmful emissions and injects them into geological formations nearly a mile beneath the surface.

Using slurry injection technology adapted from the oil and gas sector, Vaulted has refined this process to create a reliable, scalable solution for waste management and carbon storage. 

Its wells, designed with reinforced pipe-in-pipe systems and cement layers, ensure total containment and groundwater protection. 

Operating since 2008 in Los Angeles with an exemplary safety record, Vaulted’s compact facilities streamline logistics and minimise environmental impact while keeping carbon out of the atmosphere and waste out of communities.

How is Google removing carbon

Google is scaling up its commitment to carbon removal as part of its net zero ambition. 

In 2024, the company contracted more than US$100m in carbon removal credits, three times its previous pledge, to drive forward solutions that can deliver measurable, long-term climate impact. 

Through independent purchases and its involvement with the Frontier buying consortium, Google is supporting a diverse portfolio of approaches designed to remove CO₂ permanently and at scale. 

These include restoring natural carbon sinks such as forests and oceans through initiatives like Symbiosis and CarbonRun; advancing enhanced rock weathering with partners like Terradot to lock carbon in minerals; and optimising waste biomass management via projects such as CO280, Varaha and Charm. 

Additionally, Google is investing in next-generation direct air capture technologies, backing innovators like Holocene and 280 Earth to make large-scale carbon removal more cost-effective. 

“We’re encouraged by our progress, but the journey to catalyse carbon removal is just beginning,” writes Google.

Collectively, these efforts aim to accelerate scientific understanding, scalability and affordability across the carbon removal landscape.