Fireside Chat: Keeping food cool with solar-powered reefer units

Solar may someday replace diesel as alternative to keeping food cold in transit, says CEO of Advanced Energy Machines

This fireside chat recap is from FreightWaves’ Net-Zero Carbon Summit on Wednesday.

FIRESIDE CHAT TOPIC: Keeping cold: The evolution of solar TRUs.

DETAILS: Keeping ice cream cold by using the sun is now the way of the future. Robert Koelsch, co-founder and CEO of Advanced Energy Machines, joins FreightWaves’ Mary O’Connell to break down the company’s new SolarTech reefer unit solution.

KEY QUOTES FROM KOELSCH: 

“The idea was to go 100% zero emission, not a hybrid, no diesel backup … in this brutal environment.”

“We all know transport and refrigeration of food is a very challenging task. And so it’s not so much, can you do it, but can you do it and make it reliable in the field?”

“I think our database right now is, can we operate as efficient and as trouble-free as a diesel, as everybody’s come to love their diesels over the last 60 years? And can we change the industry’s mind to get away from diesel, get away from black carbon, and that’s really what our mission is today.”

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Clarissa Hawes

Clarissa has covered all aspects of the trucking industry for 18 years. She is an award-winning journalist known for her investigative and business reporting. Before joining FreightWaves, she wrote for Land Line Magazine and Trucks.com. If you have a news tip or story idea, send her an email to chawes@firecrown.com or @cage_writer on X, formerly Twitter.