Social partnerships

As a human and humanist group, Nexans leverages its skills and expertise to serve the general interest through numerous sponsorship actions and cultural, sporting and academic partnerships.

2022 Thomas Edison Pitch Contest
Thomas Edison Pitch Contest 2022

Innovation: Nexans partners with the Edison Innovation Foundation

The Edison Innovation Foundation is a non-profit organization that supports the Thomas Edison legacy by encouraging students to pursue careers in science, technology and mathematics (STEM). The Foundation is also committed to training the next generation of pioneers to solve tomorrow’s energy challenges.

By partnering with the Foundation since 2022, Nexans is proud to be a part of the Edison legacy and actively participates in the transition to sustainable energy in North America and around the world.

As a Gold Partner, Nexans co-sponsors the Thomas Edison Pitch Contest with the Edison Innovation Foundation. This annual competition is open to US middle and high school students and encourages invention, innovation and entrepreneurship.

The Nexans-Edison Award

In its role as Gold sponsor, Nexans is on the panel of judges for the Nexans-Edison Award, which recognizes the team of students that innovatively integrates alternative energy into its project. The award spotlights the creative use of sustainable energy sources, such as wind and solar power. By encouraging the early adoption of renewable energy in school projects, Nexans and the Edison Innovation Foundation are raising students’ awareness to the environment and the shift towards a more sustainable future.

The 2023 Nexans-Edison Special Award highlighted the use of alternative renewable energy in the projects submitted and gave the honor to the most innovative use of this energy. The winning team invented a solar-powered robot that cleans solar panels, boosting their efficiency and saving consumers money on maintenance while maximizing energy production.

Supporting girls in STEM

The Edison Innovation Foundation encourages girls and minorities to take up careers in STEM (science, technology and mathematics). Created in 2010, the Thomas Edison Pitch Contest not only provides students with the chance to learn more about STEM but also brings more opportunities to the most underrepresented communities, including women. At present, almost 60% of participants are girls, and 80% of them reach the final round.

We are delighted to have Nexans as a Gold Sponsor for the contest. Edison has a long history of working with French companies, starting way back in the days of important meetings between Thomas Edison and Gustave Eiffel in the Eiffel Tower. We are proud to continue this historical relationship with Nexans in a collaboration that will inspire students to make the world a brighter place.

John Keegan

President and CEO, Edison Innovation Foundation

RC Lens
Stade Bollaert-Delelis, Lens

Sports: Nexans teams up with RC Lens

With its cable manufacturing site operating in Lens since 1929, Nexans became an official partner of Racing Club de Lens in 2022. As a sponsor, Nexans benefits from significant brand visibility at Stade Bollaert-Delelis on match days, as well as on the digital communication media of the Sang et Or (Blood and Gold, T.N.) club. The Group has also joined the Bollaert Business Team, the RC Lens business network.

Nexans has strong roots in this region of northern France, as it is an energy hub. Through this partnership, Nexans expresses its gratitude to the employees who work on a daily basis for the energy transition, many of whom support RC Lens and identify with its shared values: commitment and team spirit.

As I emphasized when the partnership was signed, Nexans, as Racing Club de Lens, represents the city of Lens. When you visit the Lens plant, the flagship of local industry, you are immediately struck by the strong values – team spirit, humility and courage – echoing those of the mining basin and RC Lens. It is not a brand but rather a true emblem of the region that we will now wear on our shirts, rightly on the heart side, above our coat of arms. We are delighted with this natural move together, which gives even more meaning to our partnership strategy.

Arnaud Pouille

CEO, Racing Club de Lens

We are delighted to have contributed to bringing together two major players in the Hauts de France region. RC Lens and Nexans will be able to convey strong messages and raise awareness in their communities about the challenges of electrification and energy transition through soccer. We wish them much success in their endeavors!

Laurent Moretti

Managing Director France, Sportfive

Institut Curie

Health: Nexans sponsors Institut Curie

Nexans is a sponsor of Institut Curie, the first French cancer research center founded in 1909 by Marie Curie. Institut Curie combines an internationally renowned research center with a state-of-the-art hospital complex that treats patients with all types of cancer, including the rarest forms of the disease.

Nexans supports the Institut Curie through two projects:

Chemical Biology

Chemical Biology complements chemotherapy treatments by developing new drugs that can block cell plasticity. At the crossroads of chemistry and biology, this field is one of the most promising avenues of research for understanding and counteracting the mechanisms underlying cell plasticity, which enables metastatic spread. Renowned chemist Raphaël Rodriguez and his team have synthesized a new molecule, ironomycin, which blocks the effect of iron in breast cancer stem cells. This extremely promising initial breakthrough illustrates the potential impact of chemistry-biology research in the fight against the development of metastases, which leads to the death of patients in 90% of cases. At the end of 2021, Institut Curie announced the creation of the first Chemical Biology center in France, specializing in cellular plasticity. This unique structure aims to develop new diagnostic tools and innovative therapeutic approaches in oncology.

SIREDO

The creation of the SIREDO center (Care, Innovation & Research in Childhood, Adolescent & Young-Adult Oncology), under the direction of Dr Olivier Delattre, brings together all pediatric research teams in direct contact with the pediatric department to accelerate research for new treatments. Institut Curie Research Center is a leading institution for the treatment of childhood cancers, with more than 700 young patients each year.

We are very grateful to Nexans for its commitment to our fight against cancer. The support it provides is invaluable for the ramping up of the facilities and research we are conducting to find new ways of treating pediatric and adult cancers.

Pr. Alain Puisieux

Director of Research Center, Institut Curie

Fête de la Science 2021 au Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris

Education: Nexans develops an educational tool on electricity

Nexans is partnering with the Paris Museum of Modern Art to develop an educational tool for one of its iconic frescoes: La Fée Électricité by Raoul Dufy.

Commissioned by the Compagnie Parisienne de Distribution d’Électricité for the Pavillon de la Lumière at the 1937 International Exposition, La Fée Électricité presents museum visitors – including many young people and schoolchildren – with a fun, original and modern way to learn about the history of electricity.

Considered one of the world’s greatest modern art paintings, the work features 108 scientists and thinkers who contributed to the discovery of electricity, around a power station watched over by Olympian gods.

With Nexans’ contribution, the Museum of Modern Art is developing a free digital media tool for this vast 600 m² fresco. The educational tool is designed to become a scalable content platform, through its dedicated website and a program of themed podcasts.