After the uncertainty of recent years, 2023 turned out to be a very good year – a year when the markets came out of the crisis stronger than before.

In 2023, thanks to continued trading volume growth across all asset classes and geographies, we as EEX Group were able to achieve strong growth in our total revenues as well as a significant plus in Earnings before interest and taxes.

As a result, we were able to maintain our number one position as Europe’s leading power and gas spot market, while continuously growing our network of trading participants.

EEX CEO Peter Reitz provides in-depth insights into 2023. Watch the video on here:

Market developments

Calmer macroeconomic environment and increased relevance of exchange trading drive volume development

In 2023, the macroeconomic situation has somewhat settled down, following the uncertain and volatile years of 2020 to 2022. Thanks to stabilisation and decreasing prices on power and gas wholesale markets as well as lower margin requirements, confidence has returned to the markets.

Throughout the year, we have addressed customers’ needs by expanding our product portfolio in power, natural gas and freight markets as well as registry services. In addition, to emphasise the importance of transparency as key to building successful markets, we introduced a range of new indices for the carbon and hydrogen sectors last year.

In terms of volumes, throughout 2023, we have seen the return of remarkable growth in our core business segment, power derivatives, in addition to numerous record trading levels set across a series of further markets, such as US environmental and freight markets. This was also driven by more than 80 new participants joining the market, higher activity from High Frequency traders and the increased use of additional trading instruments like location spread trading.

Sustainability

Strategic acceleration toward decarbonisation and the energy transition is critical in our times. In 2023, we as EEX Group continued to pave the way for this directional change by introducing products to build market confidence in critical areas such as carbon price formation, alternative fuels such as hydrogen, as well as improving the integration and traceability of renewable energy. In addition, we have continued to expand our workplace solutions to support staff to reduce their carbon footprint and shift to renewable solutions.  

We are committed to fight against climate change through employee-led environmental initiatives, company social contributions, and the development of products and markets that facilitate the energy transition. 

Learn more about sustainability at EEX Group.

^{Scope 1: Direct emissions (e.g. fuels used for combustion, company car fleet)
Scope 2: Indirect emissions from energy use (mainly electricity and heating) 
Scope 3: Indirect emissions from business (e.g. flights, hotel stays, transport)}

Since 2021, we have increased the scope of our emissions reporting. Our 2022 and 2023 figures reflect newly added carbon footprint contributors, such as data centers, new office locations, and our growing number of staff. At the same time, we saw business travel increase between 2021 and 2022 after flight and event restrictions were reduced, even though our travel intensity did not return to pre-Covid pandemic levels. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, we have introduced a remote-friendly work environment that preferences video calls and land-based travel to reduce the necessity for flights. As we continue to grow, our absolute emissions will likely increase as well in the short-term. For this reason, we have chosen to measure our carbon intensity per employee to reflect the improvements made through emissions reductions efforts.