In 2020, EEX Group continued to strengthen its position in the global commodity exchange space by posting significant volume increases across the majority of its energy and commodity portfolio. The major growth drivers were the European power markets, the environmental markets in Europe and North America and the global dry freight markets. Throughout the year, EEX Group continued to build and develop markets together with its customers and further extended its reach into Asia with the successful entry into the Japanese Power market.
Peter Reitz, CEO of EEX, comments: “In 2020, we realised many major ambitions. We reconfirmed our position as the number one exchange group in power trading worldwide, we retained our position as Europe’s leading gas spot exchange and became a major global force in freight trading by gaining the majority share of open interest in the dry freight market. Most importantly, in a year where the entire world has had to adapt to working alongside a global pandemic, we were able to support our customers through this time of exceptional change.”
Power Markets
In 2020, global power trading volumes increased by 10% to 7,077.4 TWh thereby confirming EEX Group’s position as the the number one exchange group in power trading worldwide for the fourth consecutive year.
The European power spot markets grew by 4% to 621.6 TWh (2019: 598.0 TWh). This growth was driven by a strong increase on the intraday markets which rose by 21% to 111.2 TWh (2019: 91.7 TWh). At 510,4 TWh, the day-ahead markets remained stable. In May and June 2020, EPEX SPOT added day-ahead and intraday products in four Nordic countries which resulted in significant additional volume, in particular on the intraday market.
The European power derivatives markets achieved a new all time record in 2020 and for the first time in its history, exceeded 4,000 TWh in a single year. In total, trading volumes increased by 19% to 4,736.3 TWh (2019: 3,972.6 TWh). EEX generated double digit growth in its major liquidity hubs Germany (3,006.1 TWh, +16%), France (550.9 TWh, +55%), Hungary (220.1 TWh, +77%) and Spain (189.4 TWh, +26%) while Power Futures in Belgium (+123%), the UK (+475%) and the Nordics (+525%) achieved triple digit growth rates. On the US power derivatives markets, a volume of 1,718.8 TWh was traded on Nodal Exchange which is 7% below 2019 and largely due to a decrease in hedging demand as power consumption in the US declined.
2020 also saw the launch of EEX’s first power product specifically designed for the Asian market. Following a two year period of close consultation with both Japanese and international stakeholders, the exchange launched Trade Registration services for the Japanese Power Derivatives market on the 18th May. By year end, EEX had achieved a total trading volume of 587.2 GWh.
Natural Gas Markets
EEX Group’s global natural gas markets achieved a volume of 2,412.4 TWh which is a slight decrease of 5% as against 2019 (2,546.4 TWh).
Overall, the European gas spot markets reached a volume of 1,410.5 TWh, slightly below 2019 due to lower demand for natural gas. Despite the lower volumes, EEX significantly increased its market share in the majority of market areas and reconfirmed its position as Europe’s most liquid gas spot exchange. The volume in European natural gas derivatives fell by 11% mainly due to the decline of the biggest futures market, the Dutch TTF area. However EEX did post increases in several market areas including the Austrian CEGH gas hub (+18%) which continued its strong development throughout 2020.
The natural gas markets in the United States operated by Nodal Exchange showed steady growth, reaching a volume of 34.1 TWh (Sep. 2019 – Dec. 2019: 4.1 TWh).
Environmental Markets
The European environmental markets increased by 16% to 1,318.4 million tonnes of CO2 (2019: 1.138.5 million tonnes of CO2). During the year, EEX conducted 218 primary market auctions with a volume of 673.3 million tonnes of CO2 (+13%). In November, it executed the 2000th primary market auction and was re-appointed as the common auction platform on behalf of the European Commission and the participating EU Member States as well as the EEA EFTA states. On the secondary market, the emissions spot volume increased by 28% to 63.8 million tonnes of CO2 while the emissions derivatives volumes rose by 17% to 581.2 million tonnes of CO2.
In November, following a successful tender, EEX and its cooperation partner New Zealand Exchange (NZX) were selected to develop and implement emissions auctions on behalf of the New Zealand government.
The environmental markets in North America continued to show positive development.
Overall, a volume of 110,471 contracts (+15%) was traded on Nodal Exchange which added a number of new Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) futures and options to its portfolio in addition to launching physically-delivered RIN futures and options.
Freight Markets
EEX Group’s dry bulk freight business recorded its most successful year to date, achieving a new annual volume record of 789,921 lots which is more than ten times the volume of 2019 (74,776 lots). In freight futures, volumes increased by a staggering 819% to 601,503 lots (2019: 65,446 lots) while in freight options, volumes increased just as dramatically with a growth rate of 1,919% to 188,418 lots (2019: 9,330 lots). Furthermore, in April 2020, EEX achieved a major milestone by gaining the majority share of open interest in the global dry freight market.
Agricultural markets
The total trading volume in agricultural products fell to 49,452 contracts from 57,125 contracts in 2019, while trading in European Processing Potato Futures declined (28,055 contracts, -29%). The volume in dairy derivatives increased by 22% to 21,397 contracts, in particular driven by a positive development in Skimmed Milk Powder Futures (+79%).
Speaking on the results, EEX CEO Peter Reitz comments: “In 2021, we will continue to build and develop markets together with our customers and partners with the ultimate goal of further growing liquidity across all markets and across all times zones.”
| Commodity | Unit | Total 2020 | Total 2019 | Change |
| Power Spot Market Europe | TWh | 622 | 598 | 4% |
| Power Derivatives Market Europe | TWh | 4,736 | 3,973 | 19% |
| Power Derivatives Market US | TWh | 1,719 | 1,857 | -7% |
| Power Derivatives Market Japan | GWh | 587.2 | n/a | n/a |
| Power Total | TWh | 7,7077 | 6,428 | 10% |
| Gas Spot Market Europe | TWh | 1,411 | 1,454 | -3% |
| Gas Derivatives Market Europe | TWh | 968 | 1,088 | -11% |
| Gas Derivatives Market US | TWh | 34 | 4 | n/a |
| Natural Gas Total | TWh | 2,412 | 2,546 | -5% |
| Environmental Products Europe | m. tonnes CO2 | 1,318 | 1,139 | 16% |
| Environmental Products US | Lots | 110,471 | 95,817 | 15% |
| Freight | Lots | 789,921 | 74,776 | 956% |
| Agricultural Products | Lots | 49,452 | 57,125 | -13% |
Please find the detailed figures attached to the press release.
EEX Group provides market platforms for energy and commodity products across the globe and provides access to a network of more than 650 trading participants. The group offers trading in power, natural gas, environmental products, freight, metal and agriculturals as well as subsequent clearing and registry services. EEX Group consists of European Energy Exchange (EEX), EPEX SPOT, EEX Asia, Power Exchange Central Europe (PXE) and Nodal Exchange as well as the registry provider Grexel Systems and software company KB Tech. Clearing is provided by EEX Group’s clearing houses European Commodity Clearing (ECC) and Nodal Clear. EEX Group is based in 17 worldwide locations and is part of Deutsche Börse Group. More information: www.eex-group.com