Researchers at the Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory have successfully demonstrated the first room temperature, permanent-magnet, magnetic refrigerator. The Astronautics Corporation of America developed the refrigerator as part of a cooperative research and development agreement with Ames.
This rotary design refrigerator uses gadolinium metal that heats up when exposed to a magnetic field and cools down when the magnetic field is removed. The magnetic refrigerator eliminates the ozone-depleting refrigerants and energy-hungry compressors used in conventional vapor-style refrigerators.