INTERVIEW: EEX's European power trading growth 'unbroken' as new players join

European power derivatives trading volumes on the European Energy Exchange are set for another record year as new participants and ongoing volatility lifted volumes by 18% year over year in the first eight months, EEX CEO Peter Reitz told Platts in an interview.

The world's biggest power exchange has added around 20 new members to its European power trading platform this year, compared to 38 in all of 2024, with new market participants ranging from algorithmic traders and commodity hedge funds to renewable power producers and now even battery hedgers, the CEO said.

"We have an ever-growing community of trading participants. And with every new participant, there are new trading opportunities for all existing ones," Reitz said. "The growth in new members is fueled by decentralized production that brings in new players, especially renewable generators that are not only using our short-term market, but also hedge in the futures markets. There are new segments, such as batteries."

The shift in trading from uncleared OTC to exchange-traded continued in core markets, with some smaller markets (Greece, Hungary, Belgium) also seeing strong growth.

"We still see an inflow from the algo trading, high-frequency trading, and now that the liquidity has reached a certain level, it becomes attractive for them to apply those strategies in the power market," Reitz said, noting that only the German market has a churn rate needed by algo traders.

Germany remains EEX's biggest market, but France sees the highest volume growth, with Reitz referring to the ARENH effect.

"We now see some activity from algo traders in France as well," Reitz said. "A lot of the French market has moved into the order book, and that is attractive for high-frequency traders."

The ARENH effect can also be seen in the open interest. "There are a lot more companies that now have a price risk and hedge long-term in the French power market," he said.

Overall, EEX power derivative volumes have doubled from pre-crisis levels, with a record 8,439 TWh traded last year.

The first eight months of 2025 already saw more than 6,000 TWh traded (see table).

Nordic, GB volumes keep shrinking

EEX remains focused on the Nordic market despite a further decline in volumes so far this year.

"The Nordics are a big focus for us. The current provider is leaving the market. That means everybody has to move. Market participants have to take a decision where they're going to move their business, their trading volume, and especially their open interest," Reitz said, noting initiatives to stimulate trading on EEX with cross-margining seen as an opportunity for Nordic traders.

Reitz also noted increased activities in the Danish price zones, which are more correlated with Germany than with the Nordic system price.

"The next couple of months will show how market participants react," he said.

Great Britain remains an outlier, with forward power trading still dominated by the OTC market.

"When UK and European power markets move closer together again, it can be a driver, but whether that is actually happening is too early to tell," he said. "One market where we've seen a good volume level lately is the Irish market."

The launch of new spark spread contracts on Oct. 1 could also trigger new interest as it allows participants to manage price exposure more effectively, bridging physical and financial markets, he said.

Gas gains spark new interest

Elsewhere, gas trading volumes on EEX have risen by more than a quarter so far this year, led by gains in the TTF futures market amid "inflow from algorithmic trading."

"Our open interest is growing significantly, and with that, the trading volume increases. This is driven by cross-margining capital efficiency that moves these positions into the clearing house where market participants hold their power positions," Reitz said.

"Last year, growth in electricity trading was not yet translated into forward gas volumes, but now this year, there is growth in both."

The EEX CEO added that ongoing price volatility, partly due to geopolitics and additional hedging needs, is a key driver for gas trading.

LNG trading was still seen as more of a long-term story at EEX after the launch of a dollar-nominated TTF future as a proxy for LNG trading.

"We've seen some initial activities, but it's still a very early stage of development," Reitz said. "It will take a while before we can develop that market."

"LNG markets will grow. And as people start using the proxy hedge, then we will see increased volume. Right now, it's not a huge market because most of the players are hedging through the major hubs in Europe, and that's mainly TTF."

The EEX CEO said he expects demand for electricity to continue rising.

"Electrification is happening, but there are other trends," he said. "Efficiency is increasing. So we don't see a lot of consumption growth [in Europe] at the moment, and the predictions show a wide range of what power consumption will be going forward."

The clean hydrogen rollout is also slower than expected, with EEX developing a platform to host the annual auctions of Germany's hydrogen import support scheme, H2Global.

"Our platform is ready for the first auction, but it's up to H2 Global when they want to do it," Reitz said.

On EEX's environmental markets, the exchange expects some increase in interest once the new ETS2 scheme starts, while futures trading of guarantees of origin is "really taking off," he said.

EEX EUROPEAN TRADING VOLUMES (Jan-Aug only, in TWh)

Source: EEX (rounded to full TWh)