XSUNX, INC.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Securities Act of 1933, which are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. All statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made pursuant to safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements include statements, among other things, concerning our business strategy, including anticipated trends and developments in and management plans for, our business and the markets in which we operate; future financial results, operating results, revenues, gross margin, operating expenses, products, projected costs and capital expenditures; research and development programs; sales and marketing initiatives; and competition. In some cases, you can identify these statements by forward-looking words, such as estimate, expect, anticipate, project, plan, intend, believe, forecast, foresee, likely, may, should, goal, target, might, will, could, predict and continue, the negative or plural of these words and other comparable terminology. The forward-looking statements are only predictions based on our current expectations and our projections about future events. All forward-looking statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are based upon information available to us as of the filing date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update any of these forward-looking statements for any reason. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these statements. These factors include the matters discussed in the section entitled Item 1A: Risk Factors and elsewhere in this Form 10-K. You should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described under this section.
For further information about these and other risks, uncertainties and factors, please review the disclosure included in this report under Item 1A Risk Factors.
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PART I
Item 1. Business.
In this Report, we use the terms Company, XsunX, we, us, and our, unless otherwise indicated, or the context otherwise requires, to refer to XsunX, Inc.
Business Overview
XsunX is a thin-film photovoltaic (TFPV) company that intends to grow its business by manufacturing TFPV amorphous solar modules and selling them into what we believe is a high growth solar market opportunity. Our decision to pursue this strategy is based on our three years of research in the design and use of technologies for the manufacture of TFPV solar cells utilizing amorphous silicon. During this time we have developed the technical capabilities, qualified core staff, and market understanding that we believe will be necessary to establish product manufacturing infrastructure and take our product to market.
We have designed a TFPV solar module which we believe will deliver an average of 125 peak watts. To produce solar modules in commercial quantities we intend to processes glass substrates within a proprietary semiconductor manufacturing system which employs the design of a high-throughput, automated, continuous process. We believe that the design of our TFPV module and manufacturing system can deliver per watt costs significantly less than those of traditional crystalline silicon solar module manufacturers, and allow us to market TFPV modules that will be highly competitive with other thin film offerings.
Our plan for growth is to build and operate a TFPV solar module manufacturing facility in the state of Oregon. Employing a phased roll-out of manufacturing capacities, our baseline production system is scheduled for installation in mid calendar year 2008, the installation of our first 25MW line is scheduled near the end of calendar 2008, and the installation of our 4th 25MW line is scheduled for early 2010. In anticipation of commercial production, we have begun to market our TFPV solar module under the brand name of the XsunX ASI-120. Furthermore, we have successfully developed and implemented a pre-sales reservation program for system installers and large users of solar.
Markets
We believe the solar market represents a high growth opportunity nationally and internationally, both currently and into the foreseeable future. The global demand for electrical energy has experienced significant growth due to growth in populations and the economic vitality of emerging economies. This has created a growing need to diversify and establish new sources of electrical production, and we believe has created tremendous opportunities for growth in the solar market. Within the markets for solar products we anticipate that growth in demand for solar products based on TFPV technologies will out perform the balance of the solar market.
Macro growth drivers for solar energy production products include political support and government subsidies, high energy prices, technical progress having led to cost reductions in manufacturing techniques, and advantages over other renewable energy sources including:
| | Proven, commercialized and widely used solar technologies adapting to a host of applications |
| | Negligible environmental impact |
| | Reliability, little or no delivery risk |
| | Maximum power generation coincides with peak energy demands |
| | Potential for distributed point of use generation |
Growth drivers that we believe may allow TFPV to outpace the balance of the solar market include:
| | Highly scalable and automated manufacturing processes |
| | Lower material costs and fewer constraints to sufficient material supplies |
| | Lower per watt production costs for solar cells and integrated solar modules |
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Driving our solar module manufacturing plan is what we believe to be the ability to capitalize on long term growth in solar spurred by increasing electrical energy costs and demand. Large markets are developing for commercial operators of private solar farms, utilities meeting green mandates, government subsidized installations, and operators of large commercial and industrial properties. These projects represent large installations typically approaching 1MW or more.
While we believe that the market conditions are excellent for all producers of solar products, we intend to deliver thin film solar products that provide extra value in performance and cost.
Products
Solar Modules
In designing our XsunX ASI-120 module, we interviewed solar systems integrators and developed a design that we believe provides for a module delivering high power output (relative to other thin films), and size and framing that would allow for the use of many existing mounting systems. In doing so, we believe our modules strike a balance between higher rated power silicon wafer modules and lower rated power thin film modules. Further, we believe the market will dictate retail installed pricing. Systems integrators will look to sell installed watts at market dictated prices, and after accounting for certain fixed installation costs inherent to each of the different solar technologies, they will drive pricing per watt for factory delivered modules to compensate for any added installation costs when using certain technologies.
We have focused on the development of thin film amorphous technologies and products due to what we perceive as inherent advantages of amorphous silicon over other solar absorbers in regards to conversion efficiencies. Amorphous silicon produces more power earlier in the day and later into the evening because it requires less incident light than many other technologies. Amorphous silicon also exhibits less thermal coefficient degradation effects when operating in hot climates. In contrast, other thin film and conventional silicon wafer technologies degrade at significant rates of approximately 10% to 20% conversion loss of peak rated performance when operating at normal temperatures of 65 degrees centigrade.
We plan to deposit two separate solar cell layers of amorphous silicon on to a glass substrate. This is to increase the amount of absorbed and converted solar energy in our modules. Based on previous experimental and limited commercial use of our thin film deposition recipes, we anticipate the finished solar module to produce 7.9% frame to frame efficiency delivering approximately 125 peak watts of direct current DC power. We believe that we may be able to improve conversion efficiencies through the use of derivative forms of amorphous and other proprietary cell structures.
We anticipate that we can present the superior per-rated-watt-performance of amorphous in real world operating conditions as a competitive strength over the factory-rated performance of various other solar technologies. We believe these factors will influence the purchasing decision process of large solar power farms and utility size installations.
Product Competitive Strengths
Other product and manufacturing design strengths that may allow us to become a competitive force within the solar energy industry and the broader electric power industry include:
Cost-Per-Watt Advantage. We contend the design of our solar module and our vertical, in-line, continuous process production system may allow us to take advantage of economies of scale and accelerate development cycles, enabling possible further reductions in our manufacturing costs per watt. As we introduce planned manufacturing efficiency gains, we anticipate our per watt production costs to fall from initially $1.58 in 2008 to approximately $1.19 per watt by 2011. We believe this pricing will continue to be significantly less than the costs of crystalline silicon solar modules. As we mature and integrate new cell designs and materials, we believe the opportunity exists to drive cell performance above 8% and deliver wholesale costs per watt approaching $1 per watt or less.
Stable Material Availability. Our planned operations are not impacted by the current shortage of polysilicon (a key raw material for conventional non thin film solar module products) that is affecting most of our competitors through higher costs and limited availability. The key raw materials to be used in our solar module design are low iron tempered glass, high purity industrial gases such as argon, nitrogen, hydrogen, silane
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and germane, and extruded aluminum for module framing with polymer materials employed in the encapsulation for weather proofing. We believe we have adequate sources for the supply of these key raw materials and components for our manufacturing needs and in most instances, have selected multiple source suppliers. As we begin to scale manufacturing efforts, we may single out certain key suppliers to enhance efficiency, cost and quality. The cost of certain raw materials may rise over the next several years and we intend to actively manage these costs through purchasing strategies, product design, and operating improvements.
Non-Toxic Finished Product. The design of our amorphous solar module transfers no heavy metals or toxic compounds in the finished product. Conventional polysilicon solar modules contain lead based cell interconnections and thin films such as cadmium telluride (CdTe) and copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) contain toxic materials in the finished product.
Large Area, High Power Delivery Module Design. Our intent and execution plan is to work on establishing the most efficient way to deliver a commercially viable solar module at competitive price points as opposed to focusing strictly on how to increase energy conversion efficiencies of the solar cell. Our solar module is based on established module designs and well known manufacturing processes necessary to deliver a large area, TFPV module producing what we believe to be nearly twice the rated power delivery per module of other thin film offerings. We believe this design will require fewer solar panels per installation compared to the use of other thin film systems, thereby reducing the overall costs associated with mounting, installation, wiring and interconnection of fewer parts and pieces.
Knowledgeable System Component Vendor Base. Amorphous TFPV benefits from nearly thirty years of process development and research, which has produced a knowledgeable and experienced vendor base. These vendors provide access to improved semiconductor device technologies resulting in improvements to manufacturing processes in related areas such as thin film transistors, memory devices, and high performance opto-electric coatings. We have engaged a select group of these vendors and established a primary and secondary vendor for each major system component.
Certifications
We have selected components for use in our TFPV solar module that have previously been tested by Underwriters Laboratories (UL) and approved for use in the manufacture of solar modules. We plan to submit these materials, and a full scale working sample of our TFPV module, to UL for the purpose of receiving UL certification 1703 in the 2008 period. Upon completion of initial module production capabilities we plan to submit modules for participation in laboratory and field tests with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy.
We plan to work to achieve and maintain all certifications required to sell solar modules in the markets we plan or expect to serve, including UL 1703, IEC 61646, TÜV Safety Class II and CE.
Planned Manufacturing Capacities
Production Line Features
The core feature of our plan revolves around the design of an efficient mass production system. The design utilizes an in-line vertical glass coating system processing two balanced and independent lines simultaneously. This design incorporates material handling, cell deposition, laser segmentation, cleaning, and module packaging functions necessary to convert an inexpensive piece of 100cm X 160cm sheet glass into a complete solar module in less than three hours. Our process uses only a fraction of the semiconductor material that would be necessary to produce crystalline silicon solar modules.
Phased Production Build Out and Planned Capacities
In the 2008 calendar year, we anticipate completing the assembly and installation of a small scale baseline production system and initiating construction of our first full scale 25 MW system. We further anticipate that the baseline production system will generate limited solar module production in 2008 for use in fueling our sales channel and establishing product recognition for larger quantity sales in 2009. We anticipate completing the assembly of and commissioning our first 25MW line between December 2008 and January 2009. Near the end of the 2008 calendar year, we plan to launch the build-out of the first of three additional 25 MW
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systems necessary to eventually bring our capacity to 100MW. Barring assembly delays, the first of these lines is slated to come on-line in November 2009, the second in January 2010, and the final 25MW in March 2010. We intend to use the balance of the 2010 year to continue to work to improve system utilization, add shifts, and increase module yields to bring our production to peak capacities of 100MW or more of annualized solar module production. To complete each new production line, we plan to use a systematic replication process that is designed to enable us to add production lines rapidly and efficiently, and achieve operating metrics that are comparable to the performance of our initial 25MW system.
Production Line Planned Utilization and Production Costs
Each system, or line, has an estimated annualized initial module production capacity of approximately 25 megawatts, MW per annum, based on an initial 58% system utilization (the percentage of system utilization in each 7 day by 24 hour period) and 80% yield (the percentage of product meeting saleable specifications). We plan to ramp-up system utilization and yield to industry standards of 80% & 85% respectively over the course of the first full year of production in 2009, thereby increasing total production capacities per line to an anticipated 33MW. Initial per watt production costs during ramp-up of operations in the 2009 period are anticipated to be $1.58 per watt. As we improve system utilization and production yield in 2009, we anticipate our production costs will lower to $1.38 in 2010 and $1.19 in 2011. By continuing to expand production and improve solar energy conversion efficiencies and manufacturing processes, we believe we can further reduce our manufacturing costs per watt and improve our cost advantage over traditional crystalline silicon solar module manufacturers.
At present, the majority of our operations development efforts for the period ending September 2008 and the foreseeable future thereafter will focus on establishing and expanding facilities necessary to manufacture our TFPV solar modules for commercial sale. Areas of specific focus and capital expenditures include:
| (a) | Lease and preparation of facilities necessary to house and operate, at minimum, our first of four proposed 25MW manufacturing lines; and |
| (b) | Establishment of a baseline production system to produce full size (100cm × 160cm) sample modules; and |
| (c) | The placement of orders with select vendors for the core and sub-system components necessary to begin assembly leading to the commissioning of the first of four proposed 25MW manufacturing lines; and |
| (d) | Continued R&D efforts to establish enhanced solar cell deposition methods and reduce manufacturing costs. |
The purpose of these ongoing investments is to first establish a base TFPV solar module manufacturing infrastructure necessary to produce approximately 25MW of annualized solar module production, and second, to establish a replication process designed to enable us to add the balance of our proposed three additional production lines as rapidly and efficiently as possible.
The following chart summarizes our planned initial production capacity and installation timing:
| Manufacturing Facility | Number of Production Lines |
Initial Annualized Solar Modules* |
Initial Annualized Watts* |
Anticipated System Commissioning Date |
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| 1st line | 1 | 190,000 | 25MW | Dec 2008 | ||||||||||||
| Addition of 2nd line | 1 | 190,000 | 25MW | Nov 2009 | ||||||||||||
| Addition of 3rd line | 1 | 190,000 | 25MW | Jan 2010 | ||||||||||||
| Addition of 4th line | 1 | 190,000 | 25MW | Mar 2010 | ||||||||||||
| Total Planned | 4 | 760,000 | 100MW | |||||||||||||

| * | Annualized solar module production rates are based on an initial system utilization rate of 58% (the percentage of system utilization in each 7 day by 24 hour period) and 80% yield (the percentage of product meeting saleable specifications). We plan to ramp-up system utilization and yield to industry standards of 80% & 85% respectively over the course of the first full year of production of each system. |
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| We anticipate that due to normal production variables we will produce on average marketable solar modules ranging from between 115 to 130 watts each. |
Sales and Marketing
Driving our solar module manufacturing plan is what we believe to be the ability to capitalize on long term growth in solar spurred by increasing electrical energy costs and demand. Large markets are developing for commercial operators of private solar farms, utilities meeting green mandates, government subsidized installations, and operators of large commercial and industrial properties. These projects represent large installations typically approaching 1MW or more.
Solar systems installers looking to satisfy the module needs of these large and long term projects are looking for opportunities to secure access to modules supplies. We believe that the design and performance of our solar module is ideally suited for use in these project types, and we further believe that our module production capacities can be pre-sold well into the future.
Target Markets
Our primary target markets for our TFPV solar modules will be applications for On-Grid (facilities tied to conventional power distribution infrastructure) application of 1MW in size and above. Typical applications and buyers would include:
| | Solar Farms |
| | License Holders in Germany, Spain & Canada |
| | US installers servicing commercial and utility scale installations |
| | Government Agencies (DOD) |
| | Bureau of Land Management |
| | Department of Defense |
| | Power Purchase Agreements |
| | Renewable Ventures |
| | Utility Companies |
| | Meeting Green Mandates |
| | Large Commercial Installations |
Pricing
Our analysis made in predicting the anticipated sales per watt for module production in the years 2009, 2010, and 2011 was based on several factors. These factors included a review of pricing of both crystalline and thin film per watt sales trends for the previous several years including 2007 pricing trends. Trends were primarily derived from pricing surveys conducted by interviews and an industry watch firm named SolarBuzz.com. The following pricing of both crystalline and thin film for September 2007 was produced by SolarBuzz.com:
The lowest retail price for a multicrystalline solar module is $4.11 per watt (€3.00 per watt) from a US retailer. The lowest retail price for a monocrystalline module is $4.30 per watt (€3.14 per watt), also from a US retailer. And The lowest thin film module price is at $3.49 per watt (€2.55/Wp) per watt from a European retailer. As a general rule, it is typical to expect thin film modules to be at a price discount to crystalline silicon (for like module powers). This thin film price is represented by a 60 watt module.
The pricing in the thin film category represents modules below 100 watts of stated peak power. Specifically, modules producing total peak power of only 60 watts were priced lowest at $3.49 per watt.
XsunX determined that a key driver in the lower price point for most thin film in relation to crystalline modules was the discount value assigned to the lower total power output per module requiring more modules per installation. As an example, if a 10kW project were to employ the use of 65 watt cadmium telluride
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(CdTe) or copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) modules as opposed to 125 watt amorphous silicon (a-Si) modules, the required number of modules necessary for installation would be approximately 70 more units. Additional units may also be necessary to compensate for thermal coefficient performance loss of a CdTe or CIGS solar cell resulting in power production loss from heat at normal operating temperatures*. In our estimate, this may bring the total number of additional units to an excess of 70 more 65 watt modules for the same project than with the use of a 125 watt amorphous module. To an installer/integrator, the use of more modules would increase overall balance of systems (BOS) cost due to increased labor, mounting hardware, and interconnection cost. We believe that integrators may demand lower per watt price points for certain modules over others as a result of these additional system costs.
In developing price points for the XsunX ASI-120 module, we determined that the rated power output of our device struck a balance between higher energy density crystalline modules and the lower power 60 to 75 watt products offered by other TFPV manufactures such as First Solar, Sharp, and ECD. The following chart reviews our factory per watt pricing assumptions based on integrator interviews, industry publications, and our manufacturing cost assumptions.
| Period | Crystalline | Thin-Film < 100 watt | XsunX Thin Film > 120 watt | |||||||||
| 2009 | $ | 3.25 | $ | 2.25 | $ | 2.60 | ||||||
| 2010 | $ | 3.00 | $ | 2.00 | $ | 2.40 | ||||||
| 2011 | $ | 2.90 | $ | 1.75 | $ | 2.00 | ||||||
* NOTE: Solar technologies such as silicon wafer, CdTe, and CIGS exhibit performance loss due to heat. While the factory rated Peak power is determined at 25 degrees centigrade, real world operating temperatures average 65 degrees centigrade. This potential 40 degree increase can affect different solar technologies in varying percentages of approximately ¼ to ½ percent per degree in conversion efficiency. This results in an approximate reduction in efficiency at the Peak period (noon) of about 10% to 20%. To place this in perspective, a 100 watt module (silicon wafer, CdTe, CIGS) would deliver approximately 90 to 80 watts of power during the peak periods while operating at 65 degrees centigrade. Amorphous silicon does not experience the same degree of performance degradation, realizing only about 3% or less performance loss.
Sales & Distribution
In anticipation of commercial production, we have developed a pre-sales reservation program, based upon the solar module manufacturing industrys policy of pre-selling manufacturing capacity to system installers and large users of solar. This is intended to aid in building a sales channel, loading that channel with customers interested in purchasing our future module production, and developing brand presence and recognition as early as possible. The program enables qualified, interested parties to specify the amount of solar module capacity they anticipate purchasing at favorable per watt pricing. As of the date of this report, we have signed reservation agreements with solar system integrators indicating interest in over 100MW of production in calendar 2008, 2009, 2010. Our agreements provide for the payment of a 5% deposit based on the 2009 calendar year purchase commitment either prior to, or not later than, 30 days after the delivery by XsunX to the reserving party of commercial samples for evaluation. The information in this paragraph is designed to summarize the general terms of the pre-sales reservation program and market opportunities. It is not intended to provide guidance about our future operating results, including revenues or profitability.
Product and Technology Development
Since our initial reorganization in October 2003 through the second period ended March 2007, we have focused the majority of our operational budgets towards the development of technological infrastructure, research and development of solar cell device types and manufacturing techniques, and the licensure of certain patented and patent pending technologies related to solar cell devices and manufacturing techniques. We focused on the solar cell structure and thin film manufacturing processes for amorphous and microcrystalline materials. The primary business purpose for these efforts was to establish intellectual property and know how that could be sold and/or licensed to third parties for use in the development of their respective solar product businesses. Over this period, we committed approximately $4,069,981 towards the above product and technical know how development.
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In March 2007, we re-evaluated our business development and technology plans and launched efforts to prepare a plan to grow XsunX through the manufacturing and sales of TFPV solar modules. Our proposed expansion into solar module manufacturing required that we develop additional technical expertise in the areas of large area cell integration and packaging techniques necessary to produce commercially viable solar modules. Between March 2007 and the period ended September 30, 2007 we focused on the development of a TFPV solar module design, an integrated manufacturing and assembly line, attracting government incentive programs to offset start-up and initial operations costs of our proposed facilities, and the qualification of systems and material vendors to supply the manufacturing equipment and materials necessary to establish and operate our proposed manufacturing facilities.
We anticipate that for the foreseeable future the core of our operations and efforts will focus on the establishment of TFPV solar module manufacturing capabilities. Separately, we continue to explore opportunities with parties interested in the licensing and cooperative commercial development and use of our semi-transparent TFPV technologies.
The Company continues to develop additional processes, techniques, and device designs. These research and development efforts may provide the Company with additional proprietary technology that may lead to the filing of new provisional and patent applications.
Intellectual Property
In September 2003 the Company was assigned the rights to three patents as part of an Asset Purchase Agreement with Xoptix Inc., a California corporation. The patents acquired were No. 6,180,871 for Transparent Solar Cell and Method of Fabrication (Device), granted on January 30, 2001; No. 6,320,117 for Transparent Solar Cell and Method of Fabrication (Method of Fabrication), granted on November 20, 2001; and No. 6,509,204 for Transparent Solar Cell and Method of Fabrication (formed with a Schottky barrier diode and method of its manufacture), granted on January 21, 2003.
XsunX licensed the patent and technology portfolio of MVSystems, Inc., a Colorado corporation (MVSystems) in September 2004 and then later expanded our use rights under the license in October 2005. The patents acquired were Semiconductor Vacuum Deposition System And Method Having A Reel-To-Reel Substrate Cassette: US6, 258,408 B1: July 10th, 2001 (Method of Fabrication); and US Provisional Patent Application serial number 60/536,151- three terminal and four terminal solar cells, solar cell panels, and method of manufacture (Device and Method of Fabrication). The license granted XsunX the royalty free exclusive rights for use by XsunX in its pursuit to establish a commercially viable process for the manufacture of TFPV solar cells and accordingly, included all MVSystems technology, know how, and resources which are part of or related to the licensed patents and technology that was then or may become applicable or beneficial to the furtherance of the business objectives of XsunX in the future. The license was exclusive as to technology pertaining to the XsunX field of use as it pertains to the business of developing, commercializing and licensing processes for the manufacture of solar cells or photovoltaic technologies.
Effective January 1, 2007 we entered into a cooperative development agreement with Sencera, LLC for the licensure and development of a Sencera patent pending plasma source for use in the manufacture of deposited thin-film solar cells. Under the terms of the agreement, XsunX and Sencera entered into a Technology Development and License Agreement, providing for a phased program to further develop and proof the Sencera plasma source for use in the manufacture of deposited thin-film solar cells. In connection with the agreement, Sencera issued XsunX a seven (7) year royalty based license that provides XsunX with exclusivity in the area of the XsunX field of use as claimed in U.S. Patent No. 6,180,871; 6,320,117; 6,509,204; 6,488,777; 6,258,408; 6,472,622; and (b) as claimed in U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/536,151; and (c) for use in semi-transparent photovoltaic devices, multi-terminal photovoltaic devices, and cassette-based roll-to-roll manufacturing equipment.
The Company continues to develop additional processes, techniques, and device designs. These research and development efforts may provide the Company with additional proprietary technology that may lead to the filing of new provisional and patent applications.
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Company History
XsunX is a Colorado corporation formerly known as Sun River Mining Inc. (Sun River). The Company was originally incorporated in Colorado on February 25, 1997. Effective September 24, 2003, the Company completed a Plan of Reorganization and Asset Purchase Agreement (the Plan).