Vekta 2026

To ensure national and civilian security, as well as a successful energy transition, it is essential to guarantee access to critical minerals and secure the entire supply chain (extraction → processing → strategic materials → defence and civilian applications).

As critical and strategic minerals (CSMs) have become indispensable to defence technologies, energy infrastructure and the electrification of transportation, Canada must reduce its international dependence on these resources and develop reliable, sustainable access to CSMs in order to safeguard its economic and national security while supporting the energy transition.

With its abundant resources and strong expertise, Canada has a unique opportunity to secure its supply chain—from extraction to processing and manufacturing—by fostering the development of a domestic value chain. This approach would strengthen economic resilience and reduce geopolitical vulnerabilities.

This panel will bring together experts to examine current supply chain vulnerabilities and discuss the key levers required to build true strategic autonomy in this critical sector.

This panel will explore how Quebec can accelerate the development of critical and strategic mineral projects in order to build a mining and processing sector capable of supporting our ambitions. Discussions will focus on levers for attracting investment, reducing risks, advancing projects more quickly, and creating strong value chains, while integrating social acceptability issues that determine the success of projects in the field. The discussion will help position Quebec as a credible and competitive player in the new geopolitics of essential materials.

Strategic dialogue: This panel will bring together investors, a solutions provider, and an end user to demonstrate how Energy as a Service and pay-as-you-go models are transforming access to zero-emission technologies by reducing financial barriers and operational risk. Through concrete examples and investment perspectives, the panelists will highlight the levers that can accelerate electrification, secure returns, and build a more competitive and resilient value chain.

Despite its strong potential to enhance grid flexibility and support renewable energy integration, bidirectional charging (V2G, V2H, V2X) has yet to achieve large-scale deployment in Canada and abroad. This panel will bring together industry experts to identify the main technical, economic, and regulatory barriers hindering its implementation and explore pathways and strategies to overcome these challenges and accelerate the transition toward a truly intelligent and bidirectional charging ecosystem.

This panel will highlight complex and emerging use cases of electrification in various sectors that are currently not yet decarbonized. Tangible progress in pilot projects will be discussed, as well as the challenges that remain to be overcome, with a focus on projects carried out in Quebec.