On Wednesday 23 June, the newly elected EEX Exchange Council held its constitutive meeting during which the Exchange Council members elected Dr. Bernhard Walter, Head of Market Design and Regulatory Affairs at EnBW AG as new Chairman. In addition, Pierre Chevalier, Head Energy Price Risk Management at DB Energie GmbH, Jens Göbel, Director Power, Gas and Emissions Trading at CEPSA GAS Y ELECTRICIDAD S.A., and Stefan Sewckow, Managing Director at MVV Trading GmbH have been elected by the members as Vice-Chairmen. The Exchange Council members expressed their gratitute to Dr. Michael Redanz who did not stand for another mandate as Chairman after two terms.
The Exchange Council discussed a number of initiatives supporting the energy transition, climate neutrality and sustainable energy markets. The Exchange Council and EEX are committed to driving these changes, together with their stakeholders, convinced that market based approaches provide key elements to handle the challenges towards a decarbonised energy sector and climate neutral economy.
EEX informed the Exchange Council about the preparation for the new German national Emission Trading Scheme (nEHS) for which the exchange was appointed as the sales platform. Germany’s nEHS is an important step for CO2 reduction as it introduces the heating and transport sectors for CO2 pricing which are not yet covered by the European Emissions Trading System (EU ETS). The implementation of the sales platform at EEX is the first step before auctioning is introduced at a later stage. After finalising the legal framework in coordination with the responsible authority, the Federal Environmental Agency, EEX will focus on the provision of easy access to the market. Due to a large number of affected companies, intermediaries are fundamental for a successful launch as they provide access to participate in the sale of the certificates. In a workshop last week, EEX informed potential intermediaries and has published a list of intermediaries on its website which will be amended on a continuous basis. EEX will enable affected companies which wish to procure nEHS certificates directly to register via an online portal, starting in the middle of the third quarter of 2021. The sale will take place twice a week (Tuesday and Thursday) from October 2021 and EEX will publish the exact dates in the sales calendar at least six weeks in advance.
Hydrogen has the potential to become the future clean energy carrier and a global commodity. The Exchange Council discussed the national and international initiatives carried out by EEX regarding hydrogen. It especially welcomed the engagement of the EEX hydrogen working group and its initiative to provide price transparency for hydrogen. After feedback from the working group, EEX is currently developing proposals for indices. By providing market assessments on supply and demand, based on expert opinions, EEX aims to create price transparency. The Exchange Council supports this initiative as transparency would be crucial at this early stage of the market development and called on participants to support the initiative. In addition, EEX is investigating how upcoming markets for imported hydrogen or its chemical derivatives can be developed.
On a global level, there is a growing demand for voluntary carbon credits from companies ambitioned to meet their climate-change goals. To support these ambitions by providing liquid markets for standardized carbon credits, EEX is evaluating several options. The Taskforce on Scaling Voluntary Carbon Markets (TSVCM) is a private sector initiative working to scale an effective and efficient voluntary carbon credit market to help meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. EEX, as an active member of the TSVCM, supports the standardization of high-integrity carbon credits as well as relating robust, transparent and liquid markets. The Exchange Council welcomes EEX’s engagement in this taskforce as voluntary carbon markets are another important instrument towards reaching climate goals.
The Exchange Council of EEX is an official body of the exchange under the German Exchange Act. This committee consists of a total of 24 members who are elected from among the trading participants in four voting groups in order to represent the various interests and businesses appropriately. The tasks of the Exchange Council include the formulation of the rules and regulations of the exchange and their amendments. The Exchange Council is also tasked with the supervision of the Management Board of the Exchange and the appointment of the Head of the Market Surveillance.
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