This is the vision NEXQT has embraced since its inception: to make recent advances in climate science, responsible AI, and sustainable planning accessible and operational for local stakeholders in the ecological transition.
2021
• Creation of NEXQT by experts and scientists in local planning, carbon cycle, and AI: Fouzi Benkhelifa, Phil DeCola, Philippe Ciais, and Nicolas Megel.
• Development of the City Climate Intelligence concept in partnership with two pilot territories: Paris and Los Angeles.
2022
• European winner of the Ai4Cities call for projects, with an operational prototype tested in pioneering municipalities (Greater Paris Metropolis, Copenhagen).
• AI solution award at the Big Data & AI Paris trade show.
2023
• Publication by the Rocky Mountain Institute (a leading US think tank on energy transition) of a report demonstrating the effectiveness of the NEXQT solution in Paris and Los Angeles.
• First fundraising round completed with Grantham Foundation VC to support the platform’s development.
• Awarded the “Young Innovative Company” label by the Ministry of Research and Innovation.
2024
• Operational and commercial deployment of the platform.
• Excellent rating by CDP for the NEXQT platform in an evaluation report on measurement and decision-support platforms for greenhouse gas emissions.
• Cap Digital Award for best Start-up / Municipality collaboration, awarded to NEXQT and the Greater Paris Metropolis.
• NEXQT listed in the UGAP catalog, the central public procurement agency.
2025
• NEXQT expands to rural municipalities (with fewer than 5,000 inhabitants).
• First projects outside France with two contracts in Luxembourg.
• Active member of the ISO working group on the future standard for high-resolution monitoring of territorial greenhouse gas emissions.
• NEXQT supervises more than 4 million tons of CO2 equivalent across its territories.
Fouzi Benkhelifa
CEO & Expert in territorial carbon energy planning
Fouzi Benkhelifa, founder of NEXQT, has nearly 25 years of experience in designing and implementing operational strategies for local low-carbon transition. Fouzi has long worked with major metropolitan areas, small cities, and local energy companies, mainly in France, the EU, Southeast Asia, and North Africa. In early 2020, Fouzi brought together key partners to establish NEXQT.
Nicolas Mégel
Lead Data Scientist & AI Specialist
Nicolas Megel, co-founder and partner, is an AI specialist. He graduated five years ago from ISAE Supaero (Toulouse, France) with a specialization in Big Data, Machine Learning, and Optimization, along with a minor in Energy, Transport, and Environment. He joined NEXQT at its inception as Lead Data Scientist and has since developed the data pipeline, algorithmic architecture, and quality control.
Phil DeCola
Chief Strategy Officer & Technology Advisor
Phil DeCola is the Director of Strategy and a partner at NEXQT. He is an adjunct professor at the University of Maryland and has over 30 years of experience using Earth observations to address climate change challenges. He has been a climate change advisor at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and was responsible at NASA for a satellite mission dedicated to measuring greenhouse gases. He actively contributes to NEXQT’s technology choices and the definition of use cases for the platform.
Philippe Ciais
Principal scientific advisor
Professor Philippe Ciais is the Principal Scientific Advisor and a partner at NEXQT. He is a Research Director at the Laboratory for Climate and Environmental Sciences (CEA/CNRS). A member of the French Academy of Sciences, he is a recognized expert in the global carbon cycle and the monitoring of greenhouse gas emissions. He has authored over a thousand publications, many in high-impact journals such as Nature and Science (cited 170,000 times). He brings to NEXQT both high-level scientific expertise and rigorous standards.
We are located in the heart of Paris, in the 2nd arrondissement, within Spaces Réaumur
Ideally located for close exchanges with our interlocutors.
And right in the heart of Marseille near the town hall, at Spaces Marseille.
Ideally located for close exchanges with our interlocutors.
At the heart of a community of general interest stakeholders. Our global initiative (CCI) is an essential part of our contribution to the global decarbonization effort.
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