Industry committee  In fact, that is what we are assuming, but we do not know yet. We are not at a stage where we can know that.

Industry committee  Exactly.

Industry committee  When you say “inevitably”, you are being categorical. We are not that categorical. Let's say we can assume it.

Industry committee  We do not yet have enough certainties to have a discussion on these subjects. Deploying ELYSIS is not solely a matter of installing new electrolysis pots. We also have to build a supply chain for producing different pots and anodes and cathodes with different materials, using different processes.

Industry committee  Yes.

Industry committee  It's being deployed. It's being developed. Your question depends on what you call.... I don't want you to think I'm playing on words, but deployment is moving from the lab to the 150-ampere pot, then repeating what we have done in the 150 amperes, then moving from 150 amperes to 450 amperes.

Industry committee  It's a scale-up in our Saguenay operation on a larger and larger pilot scale—the test units.

Industry committee  It was for hiring 100 scientists, who are also part of ELYSIS and who are all in Quebec; purchasing the equipment that was needed to do the test in the 150 amperes, which allowed us to produce this; preparing and purchasing the equipment to do the test on the 450-ampere pot, which is three times bigger, which is kind of representative of the industrial scale.

Industry committee  Yes. I wasn't there at the time, but as you know, Mr. Simard, these commitments were renegotiated in 2018. That's something that can happen when there are black swan events. For example, there was the financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. The commitments had to be altered at some point.

Industry committee  You are talking about a specific part of the equipment. I want to be clear, Mr. Simard. Regarding the AP60 technology, I looked into the issue again recently and I can tell you that for a very large majority, we are working with suppliers from Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean and Quebec.

Industry committee  To be frank, this maximization committee is not entirely familiar to me. You will forgive me, but I have only been in this position for six months.

Industry committee  There are a lot of organizations in Saguenay and I am not yet familiar with all of them. In any event, I want to reiterate our desire to integrate into the economic ecosystem of Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean and work with the local businesses. We are already doing that, in fact. I think that really is what is happening today.

Industry committee  I don't know what you call a timetable, Mr. Simard. I reiterate that with ELYSIS, for the first time in the world in the last 100 years, we are reinventing how aluminum is produced. This is not an easy process. If it were, someone would already have found a way to do it. As for where the ELYSIS project will have got to in 2030 or 2031, I have no idea.

Industry committee  Today, the way aluminum is being done is the way it's been done for a hundred years. There is just one way. Basically, you put alumina in a bath and then you put an anode—an electrode—in that alumina bath. That chemical reaction creates aluminum. The process used in the world is called Hall–Héroult, which basically uses anodes, which are in carbon.

Industry committee  Look, the greening of our operations allows us to create a competitive advantage. It's competitive. The car producers, some of them, want to move to low-carbon cars. Packaging wants to move to low-carbon beverage cans, etc. If we manage to create a gap there, I'm convinced that we'll gain market share.