Google Opens 2026 R&D Awards Offering $6M+ for Carbon Removal and Superpollutant Research

Google has opened applications for its 2026 Carbon Removal and Superpollutant Elimination R&D Awards, offering more than $6 million in research funding across 12 priority areas and an open call. Individual grants range from $350,000 to $500,000, with the goal of unlocking scientific bottlenecks standing between today's mitigation technologies and gigaton-scale carbon removal.

The program targets researchers at universities, non-profits, social enterprises, and businesses working on carbon dioxide removal (CDR) and superpollutant abatement, including methane, nitrous oxide, and fluorinated gases. Applications opened August 11, 2026 and close September 25, 2026, with funds expected to reach recipients by the end of the year.

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Where the Funding Is Concentrated

Ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) draws the largest share of the pool, with up to $450,000 available for field trials on environmental and ecological impacts, plus a separate $400,000 track examining how the approach could scale beyond coastal outfalls. Advanced CO2 capture systems for bioenergy facilities, including solid sorbents and metal-organic frameworks, carry funding of up to $400,000, while a track addressing the energy cost of low-concentration CO2 capture offers up to $450,000.

Mangrove Resilience and Nature-Based Removal

A dedicated track offers up to $350,000 for research improving the resilience of mangrove restoration projects to sea-level rise, an area where rising water can outpace sediment accumulation and cause restored ecosystems to revert into carbon sources. Related tracks cover tidal wetland restoration and land-use optimization for nature-based removal, both developed in collaboration with Spark Climate Solutions.

Methane and the Open Call

Two tracks focus squarely on methane: one targeting abatement systems for diffuse, low-concentration emission streams like landfill gas and dairy exhaust, and another aimed at refining scientific constraints on methane's atmospheric lifetime. Proposals that fall outside the 12 priority areas can still apply through an open call for CDR or superpollutant breakthroughs, funded up to $450,000 per project.

Reilly O'Hara, senior program manager of carbon removal at Google, said the awards aim to address critical scientific bottlenecks to unlock carbon removal at the gigaton scale.

Eligibility and Timeline

Applicants may submit to up to two different research areas, with a complete application requiring a proposal and CV submitted as a single PDF. Google will review applications after the September 25 deadline, with select proposals also undergoing external expert review before funds are disbursed as unrestricted gifts or sponsorship agreements.

About Google

Google is a global technology company that has committed to net-zero emissions across its operations and value chain by 2030. Its carbon removal team runs offtake agreements and research initiatives spanning direct air capture, biochar, ocean-based removal, and nature-based solutions.