Data-centre developers are looking for ways to reduce heat at proposed projects while ensuring energy-source availability and storage capacity as investment in AI infrastructure is expected to increase in Canada and the rest of North America.

Their challenges will be analyzed during Wednesday’s Connect North American Investment in Digital Infrastructure & AI in Montreal.

Participants in a session onInnovations in Energy Procurement and Storage will tackle one of the most pressing constraints facing North America’s digital infrastructure expansion: Securing reliable, scalable power quickly enough to keep pace with AI-driven demand.

Hundreds of decision-makers from across North America’s digital infrastructure and AI ecosystem will gather in Montreal on Wednesday for the Connect North American Investment in Digital Infrastructure & AI.

The session brings together energy developers, technologists, investors and policy experts to examine why traditional utility models are struggling to support hyperscale and AI data centres, and how new approaches to energy procurement and storage could help close the widening gap between power supply and demand.

Moderated by Michel Chartier, senior advisor at WSP in Canada, the discussion draws on his long experience working with utilities, regulators and large energy users. He is joined by a panel representing market-based storage development, AI-driven grid optimization, academic research and hyperscale investment.

Roger Caldwell, founder of Firm Clean Power Corporation, will outline how large-scale energy storage based on established hydro technologies can compete directly with natural gas without relying on subsidies. Caldwell will discuss market-participating storage projects that can be delivered on six-year timelines and provide dispatchable capacity while avoiding long-term cost exposure for ratepayers. His approach also links storage infrastructure with mineral extraction, aligning energy development with Canada’s strategic critical-minerals objectives.

Thomas Triplet, co-founder and CEO of BluWave-ai, will present behind-the-meter technologies that convert data centre waste heat back into electricity. Designed for high-temperature AI workloads, the approach reduces grid reliance and operating costs, offering a faster and more scalable alternative to district heating systems that require extensive municipal infrastructure.

Eugene Holubnyak, from the School of Energy Resources at the University of Wyoming, will examine the role of virtual power plants and distributed energy resources. His work with system operators focuses on integrating EVs, smart controls and bidirectional charging to unlock tens of gigawatt-hours of potential storage capacity, while highlighting the regulatory changes required to allow smaller resources to participate in grid programs.

Anthony Gordon, managing partner at AVAIO Capital, will bring an investor and developer perspective informed by decades of global infrastructure experience and recent hyperscale data centre projects in North America and Europe. He will address why energy procurement has become the central risk factor for large AI facilities and how utility caution, particularly in jurisdictions such as Quebec, is reshaping development strategies.

Philip Raphals, founder and president of NovoPower International, will focus on the cost-allocation challenges associated with large-scale power expansion. He will argue that without clear mechanisms to ensure data centre customers bear incremental costs, the financial burden of new generation and transmission could fall on the broader public for decades.

The session’s title reflects a central conclusion shared by the panel: the energy challenge facing digital infrastructure is not only about building more generation, but about rethinking how power is procured, priced, stored and delivered within regulatory frameworks designed for a different era. With infrastructure timelines measured in years and AI demand accelerating now, innovation in procurement and storage models is emerging as a critical bridge between today’s constraints and future capacity.

Set against Canada’s growing power-capacity crunch and political uncertainty, the discussion positions energy as a systems challenge spanning markets, regulation, capital and engineering. For investors and operators attending the Connect North American Investment in Digital Infrastructure & AI conference in Montreal, the session offers a clear-eyed assessment of which solutions are viable today and which risk arriving too late.

Click here to register for the conference.

Pictured: Vantage data centre in Montreal.

Photo: Vantage

More than 400 of the most influential leaders in cybersecurity and digital infrastructure are gathering in Montreal for Connect North American Investment in Digital Infrastructure & AI on February 11. Secure your seat at this year’s most pivotal event where the future of Canada’s digital security and competitive advantage will be decided. Join visionary executives, top decision-makers, and innovators across digital infrastructure, energy innovation, and cybersecurity sectors for high-level discussions, breakthrough strategies, and business opportunities that will set the agenda for the year ahead. To view the full lineup of speakers visit www.connectdigitalai2026.com