The Army needs tough, reliable equipment it can move fast and easy. When it comes to food service and field kitchens to support troops in the field, refrigerating equipment is often a limiting factor. The Army's Natick Soldier Center asked CFIC-Qdrive to make an acoustic-Stilring fridge for its robust, reliable (and 'green') performance. But no one had ever built and operated such a near-ambient (non-cryogenic) cooler before, other than proof-of-concept laboratory devices. CFIC-Qdrive stepped up to do it and produced a fully-usable, integrated product.

One prototype was placed in break-room service at CFIC, keeping sodas and beer cool and convenient. Like any other kitchen refrigerator, the Qdrive acoustic unit is a big box with a door, but the cooling unit is mounted on the top. Also, a Qdrive fridge modulates, rather than switching on and off, improving efficiency and food preservation quality. Temperature control is within 0.5 degrees Celsius.

Not long after it was placed in daily use, this refrigerator was featured on "Invention Nation" a TV show on Discovery's Science Channel, focusing on new 'green' technologies. It has continued to operate, quietly humming along. This month, the unit crossed the 10,000 operating hours milestone - not so long for a refrigerator, but a record by far for devices of this type and proof that acoustic-Stirling technology has arrived as a practical approach to near-ambient cooling, not just cryogenics.