DAC and the EIC Accelerator: Cooling With Air Instead of Refrigerants
DAC wants to produce cold without the refrigerant gases used in conventional cooling. DAC, a company registered in 2019 in Elbląg, Poland, develops Dynamic Air Cooling, which produces cold using air alone, with "zero refrigerants", for buildings, food storage and vehicles.
The European Innovation Council granted €2,287,720 towards a €3.27 million project that ran from July 2022 to January 2025. According to the CORDIS report, it built three industrial prototypes, 85% complete at the end, and cut their noise from 114 to 80 decibels. No third-party certification was completed and no customer is named. DAC remains an active VAT taxpayer in the Polish register, but the web address in its EIC record no longer resolves.
Company file
- Legal entity
- DAC sp. z o.o., KRS 0000800067, NIP 5783138302, Elbląg, Poland
- Registered
- September 2019
- Technology
- Dynamic Air Cooling, refrigerant-free cold generation
- Applications
- HVAC, food storage, automotive
- Status
- Active VAT taxpayer, September 2026
- Website
- airenergy.inf.ua, not resolving
- EIC project
- DAC, 1 Jul 2022 to 31 Jan 2025
- EIC funding
- Grant first
What We Could Find
The Polish Ministry of Finance's taxpayer register lists DAC as an active VAT payer at an address in Elbląg in September 2026. The website given in its EIC record, on a Ukrainian domain, did not respond. We found no product launch, customer, certification or funding announcement after the project.
The Technology: Cold From Air
DAC says its system works without a refrigerant. According to the CORDIS report, it is "more energy-efficient than traditional vapor compression cooling", could cost up to 30% less to build because of a simpler design, and produces no HFC emissions. Tests "demonstrated stable cooling capacity, reduced operational costs, and improved environmental performance in enclosed industrial spaces", but no efficiency figures are given.
The engineering
Noise brought down during the project
Noise level of the DAC unit before and after the engineering work reported on CORDIS. Decibels.
CORDIS project 190167799 results.
"Tests demonstrated stable cooling capacity, reduced operational costs, and improved environmental performance in enclosed industrial spaces."
DAC report, CORDISWhat the EIC Project Promised, and What CORDIS Shows
The EIC project
The EU paid 70% of a €3.27M project
DAC ran from July 2022 to January 2025. The award was grant first.
CORDIS project 190167799. Values in € millions.
The project promised a "breakthrough cold generation technology for efficient & environmentally-friendly cooling". CORDIS reports three prototypes adapted for HVAC, food storage and vehicles, prototyping 85% complete, and says further performance testing was planned for 2025 and third-party certification is needed before the market will adopt it.
- Industrial prototypesPartialThree built, 85% complete.
- Measured efficiency advantageNot shownNo figures published.
- CertificationMissedNone completed.
- CustomersNot shownNone named.
What Has Happened Since the Award
The record
Prototypes built, certification still ahead
DAC built three industrial prototypes of its refrigerant-free cooler under the EIC project; no certification or customer has been announced.
- Sep 2019RegisteredDAC sp. z o.o., Elbląg, Poland
- Oct 2021EIC Accelerator cut-offDynamic Air Cooling: cold generation without refrigerants
- Jul 2022EIC project startsPrototypes for HVAC, food storage and vehicles€2.29M grant
- Jan 2025EIC project ends3 prototypes, 85% complete; noise cut to 80 dB
- 2025Next stepsMore testing and third-party certification planned
- Sep 2026StatusActive VAT taxpayer; website offline
CORDIS and the Polish VAT register.
The Money
The award was "grant first"; we found no EIC Fund investment or private round. DAC's accounts were not accessible for this article.
What cannot be checked
How efficient DAC's cooling actually is, whether the 2025 tests and certification happened, and whether the company has any product or customer are not public.
Why Europe Should Care
The EU's F-gas regulation is phasing down fluorinated refrigerants, so cooling without them has a policy tailwind. The EIC funded a novel approach. The public record shows prototypes but none of the independent test data that would show whether it works better than existing alternatives.
What the project promised
Breakthrough cold generation for efficient, environmentally friendly cooling.
What the record shows
Three uncertified prototypes, no efficiency data, no customers and an offline website.
The Verdict
Prototypes, not proof
The EIC grant produced three prototypes and quieter machines. It did not produce the certified, measured product the company said the market needs, and we found no product, customer or certification announcement from DAC since the project ended.
DAC could not be contacted through the website in its EIC record. This article is based on EU project data and the Polish taxpayer register, linked throughout.
Industry
EnergyHeating and cooling
- Focus
- Cooling systems
- Technologies
- Thermal engineering
- Keywords
- Refrigerant-free cooling
- Food storage
- Building cooling
- F-gas phase-out
- Air cycle refrigeration