Dr Süß  will continue to accompany EE in an advisory capacity as brand ambassador for 'Water as a Refrigerant'. In the meantimme, chief financial officer Georg Dietrich is stepping in as interim chief executive officer until a successor has been found.

Mr Dietrich said in an initial statement: “EE is growing much faster than the overall refrigeration market, and we still have a lot of plans in the pipeline – in particular, we want to drive commercialisation with new, more powerful and scalable products, and to tap new application and customer segments in Germany and abroad.” 

Dr Wolfgang Colberg, advisory council chair, said: “On behalf of all the shareholders, I would like to extend my warmest thanks to Dr Süß for his tremendous contribution over the past years. Dr Süß’s outstanding expertise in refrigeration technology made a major contribution towards driving ‘Water as a Refrigerant' technology and, with his strong personal commitment, he laid the foundations for efficient energy’s successful development.” 

Dr Süß stressed that he would remain resolutely behind the company and the technology, saying: “EE’s unique and motivated team is optimally positioned to maintain the company’s success in the future.”