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KBR shifts sustainability focus with planned spinoff

seeing green

Houston-headquartered KBR will spin off its Mission Technology Solutions business, while "New KBR" will concentrate solely on sustainability technology. Photo via kbr.com

Houston-based KBR, a provider of technology and engineering services for government and private-sector customers, is pursuing a tax-free spinoff of its Mission Technology Solutions business as a public company. Following the spinoff, KBR would remain a public company.

The new company, nicknamed SpinCo, would focus on technology and engineering services for the space and national security sectors. The scaled-down KBR, nicknamed RemainCo, would concentrate solely on sustainability technology and services designed to reduce carbon emissions and support energy transition efforts.

According to the company, RemainCo, or New KBR, will is positioned to serve the ammonia and syngas, chemical and petrochemicals, clean refining, and circular economy markets.

Stuart Bradie, chairman, president and CEO of KBR, said that from July 2024 to July 2025, the Mission Technology Solutions segment generated revenue of $5.8 billion. During the same period, the Sustainability Technology Solutions segment posted revenue of $3.7 billion.

KBR has forecast fiscal year 2025 revenue of $8.1 billion, up from $7.7 billion during the previous fiscal year. The company’s 2026 fiscal year starts in January.

In a news release, KBR said SpinCo and the restructured KBR would “deliver long-term profitable growth and value for customers, associates, and shareholders.”

“Our team has successfully built two leading businesses with the necessary scale and strong financial profile to enable us to take this next exciting step,” Bradie told Wall Street analysts.

Over the past decade, Bradie said, KBR has evolved into “a leading provider of differentiated, innovative, up-market science, technology, and engineering solutions with global scale, global reach, and global impact.” The spinoff would create two public companies that’ll “unlock the next phase of value creation,” he added.

Bradie will be chairman, president, and CEO of the newly configured KBR, while Mark Sopp, KBR’s executive vice president and chief financial officer, will transition to oversight of the Mission Technology Solutions spinoff. Effective Jan. 5, Shad Evans will succeed Sopp as CFO of KBR. He currently is KBR’s senior vice president of financial operations.

Bradie said an executive search firm has been hired to identify candidates for the CEO and CFO roles at SpinCo.

The spinoff is expected to be completed in mid- to late 2026.

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CenterPoint is one of 13 Houston companies on Time's list. Photo via centerpoint.com

7 Houston energy-focused businesses among Time's best midsize companies 2025

new report

Seven Houston-based businesses focused on the energy industry appear on Time magazine and Statista’s new ranking of the country’s best midsize companies.

Time and Statista ranked companies based on employee satisfaction, revenue growth, and transparency about sustainability. All 500 companies on the list have annual revenue from $100 million to $10 billion.

The Houston energy-focused companies on the list are:

  • No. 141 MRC Global. Score: 85.84
  • No. 176 National Oilwell Varco. Score: 84.50
  • No. 266 Nabor Industries. Score: 81.59
  • No. 296 Archrock. Score: 80.17
  • No. 327 Superior Energy Services. Score: 79.38
  • No. 359 CenterPoint Energy. Score: 78.02
  • No. 461 Oceaneering. Score: 73.87
In total, 13 Houston-based businesses appear, with Houston engineering firm KBR topping the Texas businesses that made the list. KBR earned the No. 30 spot, earning a score of 91.53 out of 100. It is joined by these other Houston companies:
  • No. 168 Comfort Systems USA. Score: 84.72
  • No. 175 Crown Castle. Score: 84.51
  • No. 234 Kirby. Score: 82.48
  • No. 332 Insperity. Score: 79.15
  • No. 485 Skyward Specialty Insurance. Score: 73.15

Additional Texas companies on the list include:

  • No. 95 Austin-based Natera. Score: 87.26
  • No. 199 Plano-based Tyler Technologies. Score: 86.49
  • No. 139 McKinney-based Globe Life. Score: 85.88
  • No. 140 Dallas-based Trinity Industries. Score: 85.87
  • No. 149 Southlake-based Sabre. Score: 85.58
  • No. 223 Dallas-based Brinker International. Score: 82.87
  • No. 226 Irving-based Darling Ingredients. Score: 82.86
  • No. 256 Dallas-based Copart. Score: 81.78
  • No. 276 Coppell-based Brink’s. Score: 80.90
  • No. 279 Dallas-based Topgolf. Score: 80.79
  • No. 294 Richardson-based Lennox. Score: 80.22
  • No. 308 Dallas-based Primoris Services. Score: 79.96
  • No. 322 Dallas-based Wingstop Restaurants. Score: 79.49
  • No. 335 Fort Worth-based Omnicell. Score: 78.95
  • No. 337 Plano-based Cinemark. Score: 78.91
  • No. 345 Dallas-based Dave & Buster’s. Score: 78.64
  • No. 349 Dallas-based ATI. Score: 78.44
  • No. 385 Frisco-based Addus HomeCare. Score: 76.86
  • No. 414 New Braunfels-based Rush Enterprises. Score: 75.75
  • No. 431 Dallas-based Comerica Bank. Score: 75.20
  • No. 439 Austin-based Q2 Software. Score: 74.85
  • No. 458 San Antonio-based Frost Bank. Score: 73.94
  • No. 475 Fort Worth-based FirstCash. Score: 73.39
  • No. 498 Irving-based Nexstar Broadcasting Group. Score: 72.71
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This article originally appeared on our sister site, InnovationMap.
Houston-headquartered KBR is working on a new alliance for lithium extraction. Photo via kbr.com

Houston-based KBR taps new partnership for global zero-emission lithium technology

teamwork

A Houston engineering solutions company has teamed up with a company to advance zero-emission lithium extraction technology.

KBR (NYSE: KBR) has signed an alliance agreement with France-based GeoLith SAS to offer its advanced Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) technology, Li-Capt, which allows for zero-emission lithium extraction from untapped sources like oil well brines and geothermal.

"We are excited to collaborate with GeoLith to pioneer advancements in accessing currently untapped sources of lithium to meet the world's increasing lithium-ion battery demand,” KBR President Jay Ibrahim says in a news release. “This alliance supports the global transition towards electrification and reinforces our commitment to a net-zero carbon future. As a world leader in evaporation and crystallization technologies, KBR is well positioned to provide end-to-end solutions essential to the development of sustainable mobility."

Per the agreement, KBR will serve as the exclusive global licensor of GeoLith's Li-Capt technology. The Li-Capt tech helps produce pure lithium concentrate and is adaptable to brine compositions and extraction sources. KBR already boasts an existing suite of battery material technologies like PureLiSM, which is a high purity lithium production technology. The combination of the two technologies aim to provide clients with solutions to produce battery-grade lithium carbonate or lithium hydroxide monohydrate. Those are key components for advanced batteries in electric vehicles.

“The transition to electrification requires strong partnerships across the value chain, and we are proud to work with KBR to advance and commercialize our technology on a global scale," Jean-Philippe Gibaud, CEO of GeoLith SAS, says in the release. "Our Li-Capt technology ensures zero-emission lithium extraction, enabling the production of lithium concentrates from a process technology that achieves unparalleled levels of extraction efficiency and lithium selectivity."

KBR was recently awarded a contract by First State Hydrogen, which is building an electrolysis-powered green hydrogen production project. The study is part of First State Hydrogen's plan to provide clean energy to Delaware and the U.S. mid-Atlantic region. Additionally, KBR’s K-GreeN technology has been selected by a group of organizations — including Lotte Chemical, KNOC (Korea National Oil Corp), and Samsung Engineering — for the Sarawak, Malaysia-based H2biscus green ammonia project being developed by Lotte Chemical. The K-GreeN is a proprietary green ammonia development process. According to the company, KBR has licensed, engineered, or constructed over 250 ammonia plants since its founding in 1943.

The study is part of First State Hydrogen's plan to provide clean energy to Delaware and the U.S. mid-Atlantic region. Photo via Getty Images

Houston engineering firm tapped as service partner for clean hydrogen production facility

seeing green

A Houston company has scored an engineering services contract on a clean hydrogen production facility in the U.S. mid-Atlantic region.

KBR announced that it has been awarded the contract by First State Hydrogen, which is building an electrolysis-powered green hydrogen production project. The study is part of First State Hydrogen's plan to provide clean energy to Delaware and the U.S. mid-Atlantic region.

"We are excited to be a part of this important project that will contribute toward a cleaner, more sustainable world," KBR Sustainable Technology Solutions President Jay Ibrahim says in a statement. "This award highlights KBR's extensive and innovative clean hydrogen expertise, in providing solutions that matter, and our strategic commitment to the energy transition."

Houston-headquartered KBR has lead the hydrogen market as a technology and service provider.

"This is an important step for First State Hydrogen as we start laying the groundwork for a clean hydrogen facility that will drive our mission to responsibly and safely advance the clean hydrogen economy and create a more sustainable future," Dora Cheatham, vice president of sales and commercialization at First State Hydrogen, says in the release. "We're excited to have the KBR team with us on this journey."

Houston-headquartered KBR's green ammonia tech will be implemented in a project in Malaysia. Photo via kbr.com

KBR zero-carbon ammonia tech tapped for Malaysia project

seeing green

A Houston corporation's green technology has been selected by a chemical consortium of companies for a project in Asia.

KBR (NYSE: KBR), an engineering services company, revealed today that its K-GreeN® technology, a proprietary green ammonia development process, has been tapped by a group of organizations — including Lotte Chemical, KNOC (Korea National Oil Corp), and Samsung Engineering — for the Sarawak, Malaysia-based H2biscus green ammonia project being developed by Lotte Chemical.

"We are pleased to work with Lotte Chemical and support their energy transition objectives with our zero-carbon K-GreeN® technology," Doug Kelly, KBR president, Technology, says in a news release. "KBR is a leader in advancing clean hydrogen technologies and solutions, and green ammonia is a key enabler to achieving global net zero targets. Our green ammonia solutions and complementary technologies such as H2ACT make KBR the preferred technology licensors for major energy transition projects around the world."

Per the agreement, KBR will provide the technology license, as well as the engineering design, for its K-GreeN process. The H2biscus project is expected 800 KTA of green ammonia from hydropower, per the release.

Last summer, KBR Houston-based announced the partnership with Air Liquide on a large-scale low-carbon ammonia partnership that will offer KBR customers a more sustainable option through Autothermal Reforming (ATR) technology.

KBR has licensed, engineered, or constructed over 250 ammonia plants since its founding in 1943, according to the company.

Chevron — as well as nine other Houston energy companies — was named a top company by Newsweek. Photo via chevron.com

10 Houston energy companies recognized as best workplaces on annual list

best of class

Newsweek recently recognized the country's top workplaces, and 10 Houston energy businesses made the cut.

The annual America's Greatest Workplaces 2023 list, which originally published in the fall, gave 10 Houston energy companies four stars or above.

ConocoPhillips is the only Houston-based energy company to receive five out of five stars. Baker Hughes, Exxon, S&B Engineers and Constructors, and KBR all received four-and-a-half stars. Chevron Corp., Halliburton, J-W Power Co., Q'MAX Solutions, and Valerus secured four stars each.

"Our commitment to engaging the full potential of our people to deliver the future of energy is at the core of everything we do," Rhonda Morris, vice president and chief human resources officer at Chevron, says in a news release. "We do this because our business succeeds best when our employees feel engaged and empowered, and we look forward to building on this momentum for years to come.”

The ranking identified the top 1,000 companies in the United States and is based off of a large employer survey, as well as a a sample set of over 61,000 respondents living and working in the U.S. In total, Newsweek factored in 389,000 company reviews across all industry sectors. The report was in partnership with Plant-A.

"In an economic climate where the job market remains competitive despite fears of a recession, employers who stand out as America's Greatest Workplaces may find they have substantial advantages over their competitors," writes Nancy Cooper, editor of Newsweek, about the report.

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Houston cleantech company closes $12M seed round

fresh funding

Houston-based Helix Earth Technologies has closed a $12 million Seed 2 funding round to scale manufacturing of its energy-efficient commercial HVAC add-on technology.

Veriten, a Houston-based energy investment firm, led the round. Rua Ventures, Carnrite Ventures, Skywriter LLC and Textbook Ventures also participated.

Helix Earth—which was founded based on NASA technology, spun out of Rice University and has been incubated at Greentown Labs—is developing high-efficiency retrofit dehumidification systems that aim to reduce the energy consumption of commercial HVAC units. The company reports that its technology can lead to "healthier indoor air, lower energy bills, reduced building maintenance, and more comfortable spaces for building owners and occupants."

"Building owners are dealing with rising energy costs, uncontrolled humidity, and aging infrastructure with no viable, cost-effective path forward. We are in the field today solving these problems for commercial customers, and this capital puts us on an aggressive path to scale,” Rawand Rasheed, Helix Earth co-founder and CEO, said in a news release.

“The strength of this round reinforces our team's conviction that we can transform innovation-starved sectors with transformational solutions that deliver order-of-magnitude improvements to owners and operators, for both their bottom line and the environment,” Rasheed added.

Maynard Holt, Veriten’s founder and CEO, said that the investment firm is tripling its investment in Helix Earth.

"The team has built breakthrough technology with real applicability across multiple industries,” Holt said in the release. “Their first product will have an immediate and measurable impact on our energy system, and they are already pursuing adjacent innovations to help heavy industries operate more efficiently and with less waste. This is a well-rounded team with a proven track record of strong execution and disciplined capital management.”

Helix Earth also closed a $5.6 million seed funding round in 2024, led by Veriten.

Last year, the company secured a $1.2 million Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II grant and won in the Smart Cities, Transportation & Sustainability contest at the 2025 SXSW Pitch Showcase. Rasheed was also named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 Energy and Green Tech list for 2025.

SLB and NVIDIA expand partnership to scale AI across energy sector

AI partnership

Houston-based energy technology company SLB has expanded its 18-year tech collaboration with chipmaker NVIDIA to include the development of an “AI factory for energy.”

Through their partnership, SLB and NVIDIA will create AI infrastructure and models built around SLB’s existing digital platforms to help energy companies scale AI for data and operations.

In addition to the development of the “AI factory,” SLB will:

  • Provide modular design services to enhance NVIDIA’s blueprint for building, launching and operating gigawatt-scale AI data centers. In this case, modular design involves manufacturing data center components off-site.
  • Use NVIDIA’s AI infrastructure to improve the processing of large datasets and AI models across SLB’s digital platforms.

Energy companies generate vast amounts of operational data, which can slow down and silo decision-making, SLB says. By combining NVIDIA’s Omniverse libraries and its Nemotron open models with SLB’s digital and AI platforms, the companies aim to more rapidly transform data into actionable insights.

Omniverse libraries are sets of prebuilt 3D elements, such as objects, surfaces and interactive features, that make it easier to construct detailed virtual spaces without having to design everything manually. They’re commonly used for building immersive environments, digital replicas of real-world systems and simulation scenarios.

Nemotron open models are AI models that are freely available to download and modify. Instead of relying on a hosted service, you can run them on your own infrastructure and tailor them to fit specific needs.

Vladimir Troy, vice president of AI infrastructure at NVIDIA, says the energy sector is at the forefront of AI driving a “new industrial revolution.”

“The winners in AI will be companies with the best data, the deepest domain expertise, and the ability to scale,” Demos Pafitis, SLB’s chief technology officer, added. “By collaborating with NVIDIA to advance modular data center construction and harness our domain expertise and digital platforms, we’re enabling the energy industry to deploy AI at scale and transform operational data into smarter decisions.”

Houston poised for Texas-sized data center growth and more energy news

Trending Topics

Editor's note: The top energy transition news of the month looks at the future of data centers in Houston; a big step for Fervo; and what hotter, longer summers mean for Texans. Below are the five most-read EnergyCapital stories published March 16-30, 2026:

1. Houston data center capacity could more than double by 2028, CBRE report says

Houston's data center scene has received its latest bullish forecast. Photo via serverfarmllc.com

The Houston market could more than double its data center capacity by the end of 2028, a new report indicates. The report, published by commercial real estate services provider CBRE, says greater demand for data center capacity in the Houston area is being fueled by energy companies, along with large-scale cloud services and AI-driven tenants. In the second half of 2025, the Houston market had 154 megawatts of data center capacity, which was on par with capacity in the second half of 2024. Another 28.5 megawatts of capacity was under construction during that period. Continue reading.

2. Fervo secures $421M in financing for Cape Station construction

Fervo Energy has closed financing to support the remaining construction costs for the first phase of Cape Station. Photo via fervoenergy.com

Houston geothermal unicorn Fervo Energy has closed $421 million in non-recourse debt financing for the first phase of its flagship Cape Station project in Beaver County, Utah. Fervo believes Cape Station can meet the needs of surging power demand from data centers, domestic manufacturing and an energy market aiming to use clean and reliable power. According to the company, Cape Station will begin delivering its first power to the grid this year and is expected to reach approximately 100 megwatts of operating capacity by early 2027. Fervo added that it plans to scale to 500 megawatts. Continue reading.

3. Energy expert: What record heat and extended summers mean for Texans

Extreme weather in Texas is not only increasing but also becoming more hazardous for communities, infrastructure, and the economy. Photo by Jarosław Kwoczała on Unsplash

Earth’s third-warmest year on record occurred in 2025, reinforcing a decades-long pattern of rising global temperatures. This warming trend is increasingly reflected in regional weather patterns across the United States, particularly in Texas, where hotter summers, prolonged droughts, and heavier rainfall events are becoming more common. A 2024 report from Texas A&M University highlights how these shifts are already reshaping weather conditions across the Lone Star State. The assessment analyzes climate and weather data from 1900 through 2023 and projects likely trends through 2036. Continue reading.

4. TotalEnergies strikes $1B federal deal to exit offshore wind sector

TotalEnergies is canceling its U.S. offshore wind projects. Photo via totalenergies.com

TotalEnergies, a French company whose U.S. headquarters is in Houston, has agreed to redirect nearly $930 million in capital from two offshore wind leases on the East Coast to oil, natural gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) production. In its agreement with the U.S. Department of the Interior, TotalEnergies has also promised not to develop new offshore wind projects in the U.S. “in light of national security concerns.” Continue reading.

5. 30+ CERAWeek events featuring Houston energy leaders

Heading to CERAWeek? Here's where to find Houston energy leaders on the Agora track. Photo courtesy of CERAWeek

CERAWeek returned to Houston March 23-27, bringing more than 1,000 speakers, executives and energy innovators to Houston.Here are some of the many events that featured Houston leaders on the Agora track. Continue reading.

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