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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Fervo Energy closes $462M series E

fresh funding

Houston-based geothermal energy company Fervo Energy has closed an oversubscribed $462 million series E funding round, led by new investor B Capital.

“Fervo is setting the pace for the next era of clean, affordable, and reliable power in the U.S.,” Jeff Johnson, general partner at B Capital, said in a news release. “With surging demand from AI and electrification, the grid urgently needs scalable, always-on solutions, and we believe enhanced geothermal energy is uniquely positioned to deliver. We’re proud to support a team with the technical leadership, commercial traction, and leading execution capabilities to bring the world’s largest next-generation geothermal project online and make 24/7 carbon-free power a reality.”

The financing reflects “strong market confidence in Fervo’s opportunity to make geothermal energy a cornerstone of the 24/7 carbon-free power future,” according to the company. The round also included participation from Google, a longtime Fervo Partner, and other new and returning investors like Devon Energy, Mitsui & Co., Ltd., Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Centaurus Capital. Centaurus Capital also recently committed $75 million in preferred equity to support the construction of Cape Station Phase I, Fervo noted in the release.

The latest funding will support the continued buildout of Fervo’s Utah-based Cape Station development, which is slated to start delivering 100 MW of clean power to the grid beginning in 2026. Cape Station is expected to be the world's largest next-generation geothermal development, according to Fervo. The development of several other projects will also be included in the new round of funding.

“This funding sharpens our path from breakthrough technology to large-scale deployment at Cape Station and beyond,” Tim Latimer, CEO and co-founder of Fervo, added in the news release. “We’re building the clean, firm power fleet the next decade requires, and we’re doing it now.”

Fervo recently won Scaleup of the Year at the 2025 Houston Innovation Awards, and previously raised $205.6 million in capital to help finance the Cape Station earlier this year. The company fully contracted the project's capacity with the addition of a major power purchase agreement from Shell this spring. Fervo’s valuation has been estimated at $1.4 billion and includes investments and support from Bill Gates.

“This new investment makes one thing clear: the time for geothermal is now,” Latimer added in a LinkedIn post. “The world desperately needs new power sources, and with geothermal, that power is clean and reliable. We are ready to meet the moment, and thrilled to have so many great partners on board.”

Air Liquide and Hyundai ink partnership to scale hydrogen economy

green team

Air Liquide, which maintains its U.S. headquartered in Houston, and South Korea-based Hyundai Motor Group are expanding their strategic partnership to accelerate the growth of the global hydrogen ecosystem.

The renewal of the companies’ Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was announced at the Hydrogen Council CEO Summit in Seoul last week. Together, the companies will work to scale hydrogen production, storage, transportation and utilization across Europe, Korea and the United States with a concentration on heavy-duty transport, logistics and public transportation.

Hyundai hopes Air Liquide's technical expertise will help contribute to more sustainable energy and carbon neutrality.

The companies plan to develop hydrogen refueling networks and storage capacity that can meet growing demands. They also plan to commercialize fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) for diverse applications like public transportation, logistics fleets and ports.

"We are delighted to strengthen our partnership with Hyundai Motor Group,” Armelle Levieux, vice president of innovation, electronics and hydrogen at Air Liquide, said in a news release. “Collaborations like this between leaders across the value chain are essential to building the hydrogen economy.”

The partnership has already shown strong progress in South Korea, according to the companies, with Hyundai rolling out more than 2,000 hydrogen buses and 37,000 passenger fuel cell vehicles, with more expected by 2026. Additionally, Air Liquide has boosted supply capabilities in the region with the new state-of-the-art high-pressure hydrogen filling center, Lotte-Air Liquide Ener’Hy, in Daesan, an industrial hub near Seoul.

Air Liquide and Hyundai previously signed an MoU in 2018, along with other major South Korean players, agreeing to grow the hydrogen economy.

Hazardous waste company with Houston presence to make $3B acquisition

big deal

Veolia, a Boston-based company with major operations in Texas, is purchasing hazardous-waste company Clean Earth from Enviri as part of a $3 billion deal.

Veolia is a private water operator, technology provider and hazardous waste and pollution treatment company that operates a large hazardous waste treatment and incineration facility in Port Arthur. Hazardous waste treatment is a growing sector as the clean energy, semiconductor manufacturing, healthcare and pharmaceutical industries generate high levels of waste that need to be handled safely.

Acquiring Clean Earth’s 82 facilities, which include 19 EPA-permitted sites, will expand Veolia’s reach into 10 new states and will position the company as the second-largest hazardous waste operator in the U.S., according to a news release. The deal is Veolia’s sixth and largest North American acquisition of 2025.

“(The acquisition) allows us to unlock the full value potential of our U.S. hazardous waste activities and to double our size on this critical, fast-growing sector, creating a No. 2 player,” Estelle Brachlianoff, CEO of Veolia, said in a news release. “We reinforce our global capacities in hazardous waste and further increase our international footprint.”

Veolia’s Port Arthur facility specializes in servicing generators with large-volume waste treatment requirements.

The transaction is expected to close mid-2026. Veolia hopes the increased exposure into industries such as retail and healthcare will help to offer a full range of environmental services across the U.S.

“This continued transformation of our portfolio enhances the growth profile and strength of our group, uniquely positioned to tackle the sustained demand for environmental security,” Brachlianoff added in the release.