At the 2008 Greener Gadgets Conference in New York, a conceptual design was released that could cool food or items while at the same time heating other items in a separate compartment. The design recieved a notable entry reward. The concept uses solar energy and converts it into electrical to run a compressor. The compressor can then cool or heat the items that have been placed in the compartments.

The original designers built the device with the intention of holding food. While I can imagine this would be a nice cooler to use for a picnic on a sunny day, it seems like it would have limited utility with the solar power requirement. However a great need exist in pharmaceuticals for an efficient and cheap way to ship new drugs or vaccines that require 4 degrees Celsius. With a slight modification to the device this could be a potential cheap and reusable shipper which could keep a constant temperature, a possible boon in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries.