UK-based Enrichment Technology Company, or ETC for short, has decided to split its German E&MS subsidiary into two: On Sept. 27, 2018, it announced separate contact numbers for the new companies located in Jülich, where Nproxx Jülich has been put in charge of constructing hydrogen tanks, while Pronexos will manufacture carbon-fiber composites and rollers, among other things.
ETC, which has offices in France, the Netherlands, the UK and the United States, had originally grouped several production services under a single brand, named EMS. Growing interest in hydrogen technology (especially in hydrogen storage) has prompted company management to create separate business units, with Nproxx B.V. developing the hydrogen tanks, so-called carbon fiber pressure vessels, and Pronexos B.V. taking on the remaining tasks.
The core business of ETC is uranium enrichment, particularly centrifugal technologies. The company originated with the UK-based Urenco Group, which underwent restructuring in 2003 and founded ETC in partnership with Orano, formerly Areva, in 2006. The joint venture has years of experience in building pressure vessels: In 2001, its engineers designed the first certified 300-bar Type IV tank. It is offering stationary tanks, including a storage system, for fueling stations but also Type III and Type IV carbon-fiber composite units for buses, trucks, vans and railroad vehicles, as well as ships, boats and many other sea vessels.
Reinhard Hinterreither and Olivier Marques-Borras, who have been managing Nproxx together from their new head office in Heerlen, Netherlands, said that the company believed in making hydrogen “a key energy source in the future.” Production capacities would be expanded to meet that challenge. The EMS brand, however, will reportedly be discontinued.