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Overview of the sale and auctioning of nEZ
The following table contains the timeline for the further sale of nEZ within the national emissions trading scheme, in accordance with the requirements of the BEHG and the BEHV (in the version valid from 16 September 2025):
| Item | Period | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Sale of nEZ 2025 | Until the beginning of December 2025 (for exact dates see nEHS sales calendar) | Sale of nEZ 2025 at the price of €55 /nEZ in unlimited quantities |
| Post-purchases of nEZ 2025 | Up to September 2026 (The exact sales dates are published in the 2026 post-purchase calendar: Calendar) | Post-purchases of nEZ 2025 at a price of €55/nEZ in limited quantity (up to 10% of the account balance of the corresponding compliance account as of 31 December 2025) |
| Auction of nEZ within the set price corridor | July to October 2026 (The exact dates of the auctions are published in the 2026 sales calendar: Calendar.) | Auction of nEZ 2026 within the price corridor, with a minimum price of €55 /nEZ and a maximum price of €65 /nEZ. The auction volume follows the requirements of § 11 (1) BEHV. According to the BEHV, the auctions of nEZ 2026 will take place in 2026 within the regulated market of EEX. Participants who have so far only been admitted participating in the sale of nEZ outside the regulated market, and who wish to participate in the auction as a direct participant in the regulated market, must apply for a corresponding admission to the EEX/ECC (see section on admission to auction in 2026 below for details). |
| Sale of nEZ 2026 | November and December 2026 (You can find the sales calendar for 2026 here: Calendar) | Sale of nEZ 2026 in accordance with the current requirements of the BEHV (currently for €68 /nEZ) in unlimited quantities ("surplus quantity"). Participants who are already eligible to participate in nEHS sales outside the regulated market for the fixed-price period 2021 to 2025 will also remain eligible to participate in nEHS sales for compliance years from 2026 onwards. |
| Post-purchases of nEZ 2026 in 202 | Up to August 2027 (Exact sale dates will be published in the 2027 nEHS sale calendar) | Post-purchases of nEZ 2026 in accordance with the current requirements of the BEHV (currently for €70 /nEZ) in a limited amount. Post-purchases are limited to 10% of the amount of nEZ held in the compliance account as of 31 December of the previous year. |
Following the delay of the start of the obligation to surrender allowances in the EU ETS 2 from 2027 to 2028, under the current version of the BEHV, new electric vehicles (nEZ) in 2027 [PA1.1] will be sold in 2027 at the volume-weighted average price of allowances (‘EUAs’) auctioned in accordance with Section 10(1) of the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Act in the penultimate preceding quarter. Sales of nEZ 2027 will start in the third quarter of 2027.
Note: The German government has recently announced, within the framework of the coalition committee, that the price range of €55 to €65 is also to apply to new electric vehicles in 2027. The legislative amendments required for implementation are currently still pending.
Auction in 2026
In 2026, nEZ will be auctioned within a price corridor of €55 /nEZ to €65 /nEZ. The sales calendar for 2026 can be found here: Calendar. In accordance with the BEHV, nEZ auctions in 2026 will be conducted within the regulated market. The exact auction design is defined by the BEHV. Below is a summary of the key points:
Quantity
The auction volume follows the requirements of version of the §11 (1) BEHV.
The total auction volume for 2026 has been published by the DEHSt on its website: Link
Dates
The auctions of nEZ in 2026 will take place once a week (on Wednesdays) between July and, provisionally, October 2026. Please note that, depending on the allocated quantity in accordance with the ‘€65 rule’ (see Section 12(4) of the BEHV), auction dates may be cancelled towards the end of the auction phase. If the ‘€65 rule‘ is applied in full from the start of the auctions, the final auction date would be 9 September 2026. The exact dates for the auctions can be found in the 2026 auction calendar (Calendar).
Participation in the auctions
Learn more about how to participate in the auctions in the section "Admission to participate in the auction".
Participants who are eligible to take part in the auctions will be able to do this via the nEHS sales platform (an extension of the existing nEHS sales platform).
Auction - at a glance
| Minimum price per bid | €55.00 /nEZ |
| Maximum price per bid | €65.00 /nEZ |
| Minimum quantity per bid | 1 nEZ and integer multiples thereof |
| Bid quantity limit | The sum of the individual bids of a single bidder per delivery account may not exceed 50% of the auction volume scheduled for that auction date. |
| Auction format | Unit price procedure: All successful bidders pay the same auction price. Black Box: Bids are submitted without seeing the bids of the other participant. |
Determination of the result of the auction
All accepted bids will be allocated at the auction price determined as follows (in accordance with the BEHV, in particular § 12):
- Bids are sorted in descending order of price bid.
- Bid quantities are added together, starting with the highest bid. The price at which the total of the bid quantities equals or exceeds the quantity offered is the auction price.
- All bids with a higher price than the auction clearing price are successful.
- If the sum of the bids at the auction clearing price is higher than the remaining auction volume, each of these bids will be allocated in proportion (pro rata) to the remaining auction volume to the total bid quantity at the auction clearing price.
- As long as the remaining auction volume prior to an auction date corresponds to at least one third of the total auction volume for 2026, the so-called €65 rule also applies (BEHV §12 paragraphs 4 and 5).
Publication of the auction clearing price
After the auction, EEX informs the general public within a maximum of 5 minutes about the auction clearing price and the quantity of the auctioned nEZ. Within a maximum of 15 minutes, further key figures on the results of the auction will be published on EEX website.
Cancellation
Auctions are cancelled if the aggregated volume of the bids submitted is falling below the auction volume. The cancellation is ordered in accordance with Section 7 (3) BEHV or the auction platform is technically unavailable.
In the event of cancellation, a new date will be announced with a shortened notice period of at least one week.
Submitting bids in auctions on the nEHS sales platform (an extension of the existing nEHS sales platform)
There are two ways to submit bids for the auction on the nEHS sales platform (an extension of the existing nEHS sales platform): bids can either be entered manually via the input form or by uploading a .csv file. The EEX video tutorial explains the key process steps on the nEHS sales platform: Link.
A sample file for the .csv upload can be found here. The specification is as follows:
| Field name | Type | Required? | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Firm | Text | Yes | EEX membership code of the trading member (e.g. XXXEX) |
| Account | Text | Yes | ID of the nEHS registry account to which the delivery should be made if the bid is successful, e.g. DE-20-XXXX |
| Vintage | Number | Yes | ‘2026’ for the auctions in 2026 |
| Quantity | Number | Yes | Quantity of the order (integer multiples of 1 nEZ), e.g. 1000 |
| Price | Number | Yes | Bid price between €55 and €65, quoted in euros (e.g. 55.55) |
| Reference | Text | No | You have the option (optional) to add a reference for your bid, e.g. “MyBid001” |
Notification of successful/unsuccessful bids to participants
Once the auction has ended, participants will receive an email informing them whether their bids were successful. You can find an example of such an email here.
Within the nEHS auction platform, bidders can see an overview of their successful bids, including the price, the allocated quantity, the nEHS registry account to which the nEHS allowances will be delivered and (optionally) the reference number that may have been defined when the bid was submitted. This information can also be exported as a .csv file. A sample file can be found here.
Physical distribution of nEHS certificates
The physical shipment of the nEZ takes place on T+1 (the business day following the auction) to the nEHS registry account specified when the bid was submitted.
Financial settlement
Further details on the financial settlement can be found in the ECC Clearing Circular on auctions in the nEHS (link).
The detailed contract specifications and other regulations governing the nEHS auctions are published here.
Overview: Possibility of procuring nEZ
There are several ways to obtain the required number of nEZ:
- Through an intermediary (either at auction or by purchasing nEZ at a fixed price).
- Direct participation in the auction (see below) on the regulated market.
- Direct participation in the sale of nEZ (currently outside the regulated market off the EEX).
- By acquiring nEZ on the over-the-counter secondary market (see section "Secondary Market").
Intermediaries
The following companies currently offer market access as intermediaries for the sale of nEZ outside the regulated market and/or have informed us of their plans to offer market access for the auction of nEZ in 2026. This information will be regularly updated over the coming weeks and months. Details of the offerings can be found in the table below.
Note: A prerequisite for direct participation in the auction is membership in the regulated market of EEX as well as membership as an NCM or DCP participant with ECC. For the sake of transparency, we would like to point out that not all the companies listed below currently meet this requirement, as some are still in the process of being admitted.
| Company name | Market access for the sale of nEZ | Market access for the auction of nEZ 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| ACT Financial Solutions B.V. | x | x |
| Advantag GmbH | x | x |
| AGRAVIS Raiffeisen AG | x | |
| badenova Energie GmbH | x | |
| BayernLB | x | x |
| BKW Energie AG | x | |
| CELSIUS Climate Solutions GmbH | x | x |
| CFP Commodities Ltd | x | x |
| DeESA GmbH | x | |
| EEG Energie- Einkaufs- und Service GmbH | x | |
| Emissionshändler.com | x | x |
| Emissionshandelsgesellschaft Michael Pohlmann GmbH & Co. KG | x | |
| Energie Quader GmbH | x | x |
| envia Mitteldeutsche Energie AG | x | x |
| espot GmbH | x | |
| EWE TRADING GmbH | x | x |
| FutureCamp Climate GmbH | x | x |
| Gößwein-Gas GmbH | x | x |
| Joh. Berenberg, Gossler & Co. KG | x | x |
| KES Kommunale Energiedienstleistungsgesellschaft Südsachsen mbH | x | x |
| KlimaInvest Green Concepts GmbH | x | x |
| Macquarie Bank Limited | x | x |
| Marex Financial Limited | x | x |
| MB Energy Holding GmbH & Co. KG | x | x |
| NetzWerkStadt GmbH & Co. KG | x | |
| optimization engineers GmbH | x | x |
| Pfalzwerke Aktiengesellschaft | x | x |
| Quantum GmbH | x | x |
| RWE Supply & Trading GmbH | x | x |
| Sachsen Energie AG | x | |
| Südwestdeutsche Stromhandels GmbH | x | x |
| Syneco Trading GmbH | x | x |
| Trianel GmbH | x | x |
| Vattenfall Energy Trading GmbH | x | x |
| Vertis Environmental Finance Ltd. | x | x |
| VNG Handel & Vertrieb GmbH | x | x |
*The list is constantly updated.
Download: Detailed list of intermediaries
| Title | Type | Category | Publishing date | File |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| List of Intermediaries | Documents | nEHS market | 2026-06-01 | xlsx (35 KB) |
Admission to participate in the auction
As an alternative to using intermediaries for auctions, obligated companies may apply for direct admission to EEX and ECC. For direct admission to exchange trading at EEX/ECC, the legislator imposes strict requirements to safeguard the integrity of the regulated market. These requirements are typically met by large trading companies and financial institutions.
Due to the relatively high administrative, operational, and financial costs involved in obtaining direct admission to EEX and ECC, access via intermediaries is generally more advantageous for companies with low to medium demand for nEZ. This principle has been applied since 2010 in auctions under the European Emissions Trading System 1 (EU ETS 1) and will also apply to EU ETS 2 in the future.
Prerequisites for direct participation in the auction include:
- Admission to the regulated market of EEX, and additionally
- Membership with ECC as a Non-Clearing Member (NCM) or Direct Clearing Participant (DCP).
For admission to EEX, at least one trader must be registered who has either passed the exchange trader examination or has experience in exchange trading.
Participation in the auction as a DCP-nEHS participant is not possible, as this membership type is specifically designed for the sale of nEZ outside the regulated market and is not compatible with auctions on the regulated market.
EEX Admission
The following EEX membership options enable both direct participation in the auction of nEZ in 2026 and participation in the sale of nEZ:
- EEX Full Membership
- EEX Power Plus Membership
- EEX Natural Gas Plus Membership
- Environmental and Emerging Markets Membership
- EEX nEHS auction & sale only Membership
For an overview of each membership option and the products included, see here. Information on EEX membership fees can be found in the EEX price list.
ECC Admission
The following types of ECC membership allow both direct participation in the auction of nEZ in 2026 and participation in the sale of nEZ:
- Participation in the clearing process for Non-Clearing Members (NCM) via an ECC Clearing Member.
- As a fallback option: Membership as a DCP Clearing Member. For DCP participants, an individual position limit applies for each auction session. The maximum limit (“Cap Limit”) is determined by the risk classification of the respective DCP participant, which is defined by ECC during the admission process. The position limit is capped at €75 million per auction session.
Information on ECC fees related to admission or membership as an NCM or DCP participant can be found in the ECC price list.
Submission of admission documents
On 7 November 2025, EEX published a customer information on the admission to the auction.
If you would like more information about the options and the admission process at ECC and EEX, please contact the EEX Sales Team (sales@eex.com or +49 341 2156-555). For further questions regarding admission documents, please contact EEX Customer Care (nehsadmission@eex.com or +49 692 1115-566).
Although applications for admission can be submitted to EEX/ECC on an ongoing basis, if the application and the necessary actions for further processing are not completed by the dates listed below, EEX/ECC cannot guarantee timely admission by 1 July 2026, the planned start date of the auctions, due to the expected high volume of simultaneous applications:
- For new participants seeking one of the following EEX memberships: Full Membership / Power Plus Membership / Natural Gas Plus Membership / Emerging and Environmental Markets Membership: 1 December 2025
- For new participants seeking “nEHS Auction and Sales Only” membership: 1 February 2026
The term “new participants” also includes companies that participated in the fixed-price phase from 2021 to 2025 but are not yet members of the regulated EEX market (“DCP-nEHS participants”).
Existing NCMs or DCPs already admitted to the regulated EEX market that participated in the sale of nEZ from 2021 to 2025 will be automatically admitted to the auctions unless they explicitly object in writing by 1 March 2026.
NCMs or DCPs admitted to the regulated EEX market but not yet to the nEHS market may apply for this admission by 1 March 2026 through a product extension in the Customer Portal.
Admission to the sale of nEHS
As an alternative to using intermediaries for participation in the sale of nEZ outside the regulated market, obligated companies may apply for direct admission. For direct admission to EEX/ECC, the legislator imposes strict requirements to protect market integrity. These include, for example, reviews of the participant’s business model and checks on acting and responsible people to prevent money laundering and fraud. Such requirements are typically met by large trading companies and financial institutions.
Considering key factors overall—such as lower one-time and annual administrative costs, faster market access, portfolio effects for repurchases, and additional services on one side, versus lower fixed and variable fees and higher insolvency protection on the other—the use of an intermediary is advantageous for companies that only occasionally participate in the sales process or have a low to medium demand for nEZ. This principle has been applied since 2010 in auctions under the European Emissions Trading System 1 (EU ETS 1) and will also apply in the future to EU ETS 2.
Sale
About the nEHS Sale Platform
nEHS Sale Platform Registration
- An import function for buy orders is available for the nEHS sale platform.
- A sample file for download can be found here.
- Further explanations of the import function can be found here.
Information on sales
- A CSV report with the results of the nEHS sales can be found here.
- You can find the nEHS sales calendar here.
Information on the handling of the sales process
Physical distribution of nEHS certificates
Physical distribution of nEZs to NCMs and DCPs takes place on T+1 (the business day following the nEHS sale) to the specified nEHS registry account.
For DCP-nEHS participants, the physical distribution of nEZs will take place no later than the second business day after ECC has received the correct payment.
ECC-Download area
Please note that the following documents are samples for informational purposes only:
ATTENTION: For the SEPA transfer of DCP-nEHS customers at the ECC, only the bank account specified in the application for admission under point 2.4 "Bank details" can be used.
| Title | Type | Category | Publishing date | File |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| nEHS Sale Platform - Sample File | Documents | nEHS market | 2024-07-23 | csv (151 B) |
| nEHS Sale Platform - Information on Import Function | Documents | nEHS market | 2021-10-04 | pdf (84 KB) |
| Sample Payment Request | Documents | nEHS market | 2023-01-06 | pdf (106 KB) |
| Sample Invoice Report | Documents | nEHS market | 2024-07-23 | pdf (55 KB) |
Supporting Climate Protection
“In European carbon markets, EEX has been active for many years as a central auction and trading platform. We are very pleased to have been appointed as a service provider for the German nEHS, as this gives us the opportunity to leverage our experience and expertise to support climate protection in additional sectors where Germany is a pioneer.”Peter Reitz, CEO of EEX
More information about the National Emissions Trading System (nEHS)
Secondary Market
During the fixed-price phase and the auctions, EEX does not offer an exchange-based secondary market for nEZ. However, within the over-the-counter (OTC) secondary market, it is generally possible to purchase or sell nEZ with maturities from previous years.
Some companies that act as intermediaries providing market access for acquiring nEZ also offer brokerage services for nEZ with previous-year maturities. These companies are specifically marked in the “Detailed Intermediary List,” which can be accessed on this page.
In addition, our strategic partner q-bility offers the possibility to trade nEZ with previous-year maturities on its trading platform. Participants can post buy and sell requests for nEZ on the platform to receive price offers. If both parties agree on a transaction via the platform, they can subsequently enter into a bilateral contractual agreement.
Webinars, workshops and tutorials
Overview nEHS in 2026 and beyond (only in German)
Notice: To activate the video, please click on the image. Please note that after accessing the link, your data will be forwarded to YouTube.
nEHS Auction Platform Tutorial
Notice: To activate the video, please click on the image. Please note that after accessing the link, your data will be forwarded to YouTube.