Google to partner with Terradot in Brazil methane solutions

Google has announced its partnership with Terradot to deploy climate solutions at Brazilian rice farms, Google said on Sept. 16.

Google's purchase from Terradot, a carbon removal company specializing in Enhanced Rock Weathering, or ERW, will pair methane avoidance in Brazilian rice farming with carbon dioxide removal.

The partnership aims to deliver "megatron-scale climate impact by 2030," with Google purchasing 1 million metric tons of CO2e of methane elimination by 2030 and 1 million mt of permanent carbon removal by 2040.

The deal is the largest carbon removal purchase to date and the first project that combines "near-term methane elimination with durable carbon removal at this scale," the company said.

Two technologies will be deployed on over 200,000 hectares of rice farms located in southern Brazil, targeting both superpollutant elimination and carbon removal.

Terradot will aid farmers in adopting an irrigation technique known as Alternate Wetting and Drying to periodically drain flooded paddies, while also spreading naturally-sourced volcanic rock over the same fields. The rock will dissolve over time, removing CO2 from the atmosphere in a process known as ERW, according to Google.

"We are pairing two proven technologies and deploying them together at a massive scale," James Kanoff, CEO of Terradot, said. "With this new model, every tonne of removal meets the same rigorous standard, and delivers climate impact faster than ever."

Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, assessed Methane Management Current Year prices stable on the day at $1.85/mtCO2e on Sept. 16.