S2E9 - Energy transition, from factory to investor

IA du neuf — Season 2, Episode 9: Energy transition — from factory to investor

Green energy: heat that evaporates in pipes... or fuel for a new local market?

What if the waste heat from a Quebec aluminum smelter was already the solution—but no one knew how to account for it yet? What if AI became both the engineer who builds the network and the auditor who proves its value?

At the studio, we welcomed:

On the ground, Léo Lamy-Laliberté (Local Energy) and Nicholas Parker (Clean AI Initiative) demonstrate that the technology is ready: an aluminum smelter releases enough heat to heat 20,000 homes, and African villages are building smart microgrids at 70% less cost than in the West—without ever going through the mega-power plant stage.

In terms of figures, Jérémy Sauvageau and Colin Llacer (Explorai) reveal what is still holding things back: investors do not know how to value a ton of CO2 saved, and cloudy skies in Germany are enough to destabilize electricity bills as far away as Portugal. The energy transition is as much a data crisis as it is an infrastructure crisis.

Together, they are converging on one certainty: AI will be the bridge between those who are building the energy of tomorrow and those who must finance it today.

Will we soon see AI certifying environmental data with the rigor of a financial auditor, thereby unlocking billions for Quebec's climate?