2014
The genesis behind SolarX|Works began at a global food chain convention in Washington DC. During a meeting, Blake and Donald had a discussion about the critical need to expand the cold chain into emerging global markets where conventional cold storage solutions simply can’t exist. Having backgrounds in both the solar and cold storage industries, Blake and Donald thought, “surely we can come up with a solution to this problem leveraging our expertise.”
2015
From there, SolarX|Works was founded. The team built a proof of concept, purchasing a standard insulated 20’ reefer container and retrofitting it with solar panels. Low and behold, they were able to power refrigeration with the power from the sun. However, the team saw flaws in the system. It was inefficient in leveraging the DC power from the panels to run the AC-powered refrigeration system.
2016
This led to the second proof of concept—ripping out all of the AC-powered components and replacing them with DC-powered components. This was successful and led to a 20% increase in power efficiency running the container refrigeration system on solar. However, the team at SolarX|Works was still not satisfied. This solution worked and was better than the original proof of concept, but the market was asking for a slightly different solution with more flexibility.
2018
Thus, the idea for xCOLD was born. A standalone, mobile, modular solar-powered refrigeration system, the xCOLD concept provided flexibility in what type of space it could keep cold. The xCOLD could still be used to keep a standard shipping container cold, but it could also be attached to other structures that the market asked for such as temporary structures, walk-in coolers, root cellars, etc. In addition, the xCOLD could be offered at a lower price point than the proof of concepts and further increased efficiency in power usage. SolarX|Works successfully filed multiple patents based on the xCOLD design—specifically on the power management system (SolarXOS) as well as the flexible form factor.
2024
After years of focusing on solar refrigeration for food, SolarX|Works decides to pivot to another use case for its climate control solution—people cooling. Leveraging the knowledge gained through their solar refrigeration endeavors, the SXW team set out to build a low-cost, portable, solar-powered air conditioning unit that could be attached to a temporary structure and provide climate-controlled relief during hot days. From this, the KulSun solar people cooling system was born.
2025
Lessons from the first KulSun Alpha unit in 2024 led to the second iteration KulSun and its ancillerary systems. This new KulSun unit, along with a customized insulated tent, solar panels, and battery bank encompassed the entirety of the KulSun people cooling solution—an all-inclusive portable climate-controlled shelter to protect workers, event-goers, or any individuals needing to escape the heat. This KulSun solution will be demonstrated throughout the US for perspective partners and buyers during the summer of 2025.
2026 and beyond
Combining technologies from the xCOLD and learnings from the first two versions of the KulSun system, SolarX|Works will deliver the first customer-ready KulSun systems to buyers in 2026.