KBR has made a strategic investment in Geolith, a global leader in Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE). This investment will support the global commercial deployment of Geolith’s DLE Li-Capt® technology.

In 2024, KBR and GeoLith entered into an exclusive alliance agreement and this investment further advances a shared strategy to bring scalable, cost-efficient and low-impact lithium production pathways to battery and energy storage markets. By offering Geolith’s highly selective and efficient DLE Li-Capt technology with KBR’s PureLi® refining and conversion technology, KBR delivers a fully integrated, end-to-end solution from lithium extraction to battery-grade lithium production.

KBR also brings to clients its global engineering, procurement and project delivery expertise, along with a proven track record of delivering complex projects across the energy sector and is well positioned to de-risk projects and accelerate time to market.

“Building on our strong alliance of collaboration and innovation, we are very excited to take this next step together with Geolith,” said Jay Ibrahim, President, KBR Sustainable Technology Solutions. “This investment reflects confidence in both the technology and its pathway to deployment and positions us to accelerate the next phase of growth in support of global lithium supply.”

“This is a step-change moment for Geolith. Our Li-Capt technology has been validated across multiple brine chemistries and is now advancing toward commercial-scale deployment,” said Jean-Philippe Gibaud, CEO, Geolith. “With KBR, we now have the capability to deliver the technology globally, with the speed and rigor the market requires.”

The strengthened collaboration is already supported by a growing pipeline of global projects targeting both traditional brine resources and new opportunities such as produced water from the upstream energy industry, unlocking lithium supply with a significantly lower environmental footprint.  

Together, KBR and Geolith will continue to develop and deploy integrated solutions that enable clients to meet increasing demand while adhering to environmental and operational standards.

KeyFacts Energy Industry Directory: KBR