Google Is Offering Major Funding to Save Humanity’s Future — Apply Before September 25

Google has opened applications for its 2026 Carbon Removal and Superpollutant Elimination R&D Awards. The program offers funding to researchers and organisations working on ways to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and cut emissions of powerful greenhouse gases known as superpollutants.

The awards target projects that can improve the reliability and scale of these climate strategies. Google wants work that moves solutions closer to real-world use, whether through laboratory tests, field trials, engineering prototypes, modelling, or careful reviews of existing research. Priority goes to proposals that increase confidence in how well a method works and that aim for large-scale impact—gigatonne levels for carbon removal and megatonne levels for superpollutant reduction.

Funding ranges from $350,000 to $500,000 per project, depending on the research area. Some areas allow higher totals. For example, certain methane-related projects can receive up to $500,000, while others such as ocean alkalinity enhancement environmental studies or low-concentration CO2 capture, sit around $450,000. Money is provided as unrestricted gifts to universities or through sponsorship agreements for other groups. The amount covers the full project cost, including overhead.

Eligible applicants include individuals at universities, research institutions, non-profits, social enterprises, and businesses that have a clear record of research or innovation work and community engagement. Applicants must serve as the principal investigator. A co-principal investigator is optional. Only one proposal is allowed per research area, though separate applications can be submitted to different areas.

The program covers two broad categories. Carbon removal work includes studies on ocean alkalinity enhancement, bioenergy with carbon capture, biochar from underused materials, mangrove and tidal wetland restoration, land-use optimisation, low-concentration CO2 capture systems, and perennial crop approaches. Superpollutant projects focus mainly on methane, including ways to cut emissions from diffuse sources, a better understanding of methane’s atmospheric lifetime, and measurement systems for landfill interventions. Other superpollutants, such as nitrous oxide and certain fluorinated gases also fall under the open call.

Google notes that both carbon removal and superpollutant abatement are necessary to reach net-zero goals and stabilise temperatures, citing the IPCC AR6 report. The awards aim to expand the evidence base for these approaches and reduce uncertainty around their climate effects and measurement methods.

Applications opened on August 11, 2026. The deadline is September 25, 2026, at 11:59:59 pm BST. Proposals must be submitted as a single PDF through the Google Form linked on the program page. The document should follow a set structure, stay within page limits (generally five to six pages), and be written in English. Confidential information should not be included. Successful projects are expected to produce outputs such as peer-reviewed papers, standardised datasets or models, and techno-economic assessments. Funding decisions and disbursement are planned by the end of December 2026.

Full details on research priorities, eligibility rules, submission format, and the application form are available on the official program page. Researchers and groups already working on these problems now have a clear window to apply for support that could help move promising ideas closer to practical use.