Doha is increasingly being viewed not only as a destination for global innovation but also as a platform to export it, as it offers a rare combination of AI (artificial intelligence)-driven transformation, strong national ambition, and a policy environment greatly shaped by sustainability and long-term resilience.
In this regard, EnergyX, which is building the future of energy-optimised cities from Qatar, saw vast opportunity to scale its operations from Doha, to where the South Korean firm has shifted its global headquarters and command centre, an indication of the growing prominence of Qatar in the world of smart cities and sustainability.
The Qatar Financial Centre-based EnergyX, a company working at the intersection of AI, engineering and energy-generating building systems, is among the firms placing Qatar at the centre of its long-term global strategy.
The move is not symbolic. It is built on a calculation that few markets combine Qatar’s pace of development, capital alignment and policy direction at scale, according to the founders of EnergyX, a global leader in AI-driven energy self-sufficiency solutions for zero-energy buildings (ZEBs).
At the heart of this push are two leaders whose roles converge in Doha: Sean Park, founder and chief executive officer, and Jean-Jacques Dandrieux, founding member, chief strategy officer. Together, they represent a blend of founder-led conviction and institutional execution — aimed at reshaping how cities consume, generate and manage energy.
“As Qatar accelerates its national agenda around smart urbanisation, sustainability and next-generation infrastructure, Doha is increasingly being viewed not only as a destination for global innovation — but as a platform to export it,” said Park, who views buildings should no longer operate as passive consumers of energy, but as intelligent, productive assets — capable of optimising demand, generating power, and creating measurable energy outcomes across their lifecycle.
Qatar’s emergence as a base for EnergyX’s expansion reflects the company’s view that the country offers a rare combination: national momentum behind AI-driven transformation, strong national ambition, and a policy environment increasingly shaped by sustainability and long-term resilience.
As Qatar accelerated investment in AI, smart cities, sustainable districts and major infrastructure, Park saw an opportunity to scale EnergyX — with Qatar positioned as a key hub.
Beginning in 2024, EnergyX initiated the relocation of its global leadership and command functions to Qatar. By early 2025, Park and the company’s core leadership team had moved to Qatar, anchoring the company’s future scaling in the country.
Today, EnergyX describes its Qatar operations not as a regional outpost, but as a global hub — directing projects, research and development, and acquisition activity across Asia, Europe, the Middle East and North America.
For Park and Dandrieux, the strategy is not simply to expand a company footprint in the Gulf. It is to advance a wider proposition: that cities can be designed to be energy-optimised by default — and that buildings can become part of the energy solution rather than part of the problem.
"As the country continues to build at scale, its ambition increasingly extends beyond adopting global innovation. It is positioning itself to shape what comes next — and to export it," said Park.
EnergyX’s approach is to unify disciplines that have traditionally operated in silos: AI-powered computational energy intelligence, façade engineering and fabrication, and long-term operational optimisation. The goal is not simply to design efficient buildings, but to deliver performance outcomes from early-stage design through decades of use.
EnergyX claims to have delivered more than 2,000 buildings worldwide, supported by over 300 intellectual property assets, across asset classes ranging from high-rise commercial towers and large residential developments to industrial facilities and hyper-scale data centres.
Among its most prominent demonstrations is the EnergyX DY-Building, which recorded 129.6% energy self-sufficiency over a one-year period, based on 2025 certification and performance data published by the Korea Energy Agency, calculated on a net annual basis that includes grid exports.
The seven-storey DY-building is seen as a functioning showcase of integrated technologies of EnergyX. From design to operations, the building demonstrates a complete application of optimised, data-driven, AI or artificial intelligence-powered, hardware-integrated solutions.
"In Qatar, EnergyX is applying this model in alignment with national objectives, supporting a broader push to link sustainability with productivity, performance and long-term value," he said.
During the Web Summit Qatar 2025, EnergyX had disclosed its plans to establish a major research and development centre in Qatar, committing to invest more than $100mn in the Gulf Co-operation Council region over the next five years.
