Google is shelling out for cow manure, but maybe not in the way you’d expect.

Google is paying millions for cow manure — but not to fertilize fields. The tech giant has signed a deal with Kansas startup Vaulted Deep to lock away 50,000 tons of carbon over the next five years by injecting animal waste and sewage sludge deep underground. The idea is to trap carbon and methane that would otherwise seep into the atmosphere and fuel global warming, according to Fast Company.

Microsoft made a similar deal earlier this year, but Google’s partnership highlights the growing interest in turning waste into a climate solution. Vaulted Deep’s system pumps manure and sludge about 1,000 feet below the Earth’s surface into secure rock formations, keeping methane — a greenhouse gas more than 80 times stronger than CO2 in the short term — out of the air.

“There’s no widely recognized standard for measuring methane in waste management,” said Bryan Epps, the company’s head of commercialization. “That’s why this collaboration with Google is so important.”

CEO Julia Reichelstein added that the process doesn’t just help the climate — it also deals with overflowing manure lagoons and human waste that can pollute water, spread harmful “forever chemicals,” and overwhelm farming communities. As massive factory farms produce more waste than local fields can safely use as fertilizer, burying it offers an alternative to landfills or incineration.

Vaulted Deep’s technology has already been used to manage waste under Los Angeles, but the company is now doubling down on measuring, verifying, and selling the climate benefits to corporations eager to show progress on emissions reduction.

President Trump has not yet commented on this specific project, but his administration continues to face pressure from both environmental advocates and industry leaders on how best to balance economic growth with climate solutions.

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