Stories of Technology, Innovation, & Entrepreneurship in the Southeast

Words can’t really describe Justin Li. He’s a high-performing Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of a wearable cooling, heating, and hydration company, with clients as big as Chik-Fil-A, Dutch Bros, and the United States Department of Defense. His company, Qore Performance is a smashing success, growing like crazy, and he decided to bring it to Knoxville.

Why?

It all starts back on the West Coast in sunny California. Li was working in commercial real estate in San Diego during the 2008 housing crisis. While it was a tough time for many, Li struck gold. He created an energy cost optimization model that could his company see which strings to pull for their buildings to consume less energy.

“Our system resulted in well over 60 percent energy reduction. So, the numbers went gangbusters,” he said, explaining how it could save his company on power bills and make the buildings more appealing when they hit the market a few years later.

Li made a living off finding efficient ways for buildings to “stay cool” in the hottest Southern California heatwaves. His system was efficient, profitable, and required limited oversight.

So, he decided to join the attend the police academy, in an effort to be a good steward of his time and spiritual gifts.

“Even though I worked part-time, I was fortunate to have a great boss in Sergeant Don Parker who got me in to a bunch of specialized training courses and certifications at the department,” Li said.

Li’s specialized training put him on a back-country mountain patrol team in the deserts east of San Diego. He recalls trekking through the dry dirt, under intense sun, and temperatures above 100 degrees.

Now, keep in mind that Li had a background in cooling buildings. After enduring this experience, his focus shifted from commercial buildings to the human body.

“A building and a body have a lot of parallel systems: skeletal, vascular, hydraulic, and electrical” He said, continuing with other examples of similarities. “Buildings have pipes and ducts that mimic the body’s blood vessels, and HVAC systems circulate air, just like how the respiratory system keeps us oxygenated and plumbing moves fluids.”

Most importantly, both bodies and buildings require energy sources, giving off and absorbing heat.

Li drew his initial inspiration from the “Stanford Cooling Glove.” A team of scientists came up with this large cooling system that extracts heat from one hand to rapidly cool, and aid recovery for athletes. The only issue with the technology is its size. It’s large, non-portable, and isn’t practical to wear.

“If we could create something with just 10 percent of the cooling efficiency, and 90 percent more practical to wear, then we will have created something great,” he said.

Li invented a base layer. He put the invention on Kickstarter. In December 2015, the United States Army reached out.

Heat exhaustion resulting in illnesses is one of the top non-combat causes of hospitalization in the military. A fascinating look into data collected by the Weather-Related Injury Repository (WRIR) in the U.S. Army shows the cost associated with those hospitalizations from 2016 through 2018 (three years).

According to the data, During the study period, 5,291 soldiers—1,027 women and 4,264 men—had one or more clinical records associated with heat stroke or heat exhaustion events. The 5,291 soldiers had 13,087 records of encounters for heat illnesses which resulted in an average of 2.5 medical encounters per soldier. Why? Once the body experiences heat stroke once, it increases the susceptibility of getting it again in the future.

Over the three years of the study, the total direct care cost to the Army for heat stroke and heat exhaustion encounters was $7.3 million, or $559 per encounter. Early medical retirements of new recruits, often 18-20 years old, skyrocket costs in to the millions of dollars per warfighter, per incident. This money comes from the American taxpayer.

So, the Army approached Li with this issue and asked if he could create a cooling material that added no weight, or ideally “negative weight” to the uniforms. Without even considering the complications, Li said yes.

It wasn’t an easy task. They couldn’t add a layer. They couldn’t add an energy source. They couldn’t find a place to store the cooling elements. A true inventor finds ways to think outside of the box – and, that is exactly what happened.

For Li, that idea was to re-shape the water bottles that soldiers were already required to carry into their marquee product: ICEPLATE®. ICEPLATE® is a water bottle shaped like an armor plate commonly issued to warfighters. This concept was the beginning of the Qore Performance company he owns today.

The military is just one branch of the company’s robust clientele. Others include the likes of Chik-Fil-A, Dutch Bros, manufacturing facilities, and individual backpackers, hikers, bikers, and even festivalgoers.

Qore Performance started in Virginia in 2015; however, Li relocated to Knoxville in February of 2023.

“In our search for a new home, we prioritized three main criteria: freedom, people, and location/environment,” Li said. “Since moving here, I have become East Tennessee’s biggest cheerleader.”

Qore Performance’s new facility is just off Northshore Drive in Bearden. They officially moved in on March 24 and have a public ribbon cutting scheduled for February 7, 2025.

“We plan to be here indefinitely,” Li said. “We want Knoxville to know that we are here to solve problems and help maximize people’s potential, without changing any of what makes East Tennessee so great. Our goal is to make America awesome.”

Additionally, he prides the company on being a unique employment opportunity that rewards hard-working, passionate people who are driven by excellence. So far, Li has hired about a dozen people locally to support the company’s expansion efforts.

But, it won’t stop there.

Li was excited to announce that Qore Performance is preparing to launch a major growth initiative which could include a Series A round for investment. This would help with the R&D of new, efficient thermoregulation technologies, additional employment opportunities, and the expansion into new markets!

Learn more about Qore Performance.

Welcome Justin Li to Knoxville.

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