EEX Group continued its growth trajectory in the first half of 2026 and further strengthened its position as a global platform for energy, environmental and commodity markets. This development was driven in particular by growth in international power markets, a good performance of the European gas markets and strong increases in environmental products.
Trading volumes on the Group’s global power markets rose by 5% year-on-year to 7,379.6 TWh, while volumes on its global natural gas markets increased by 3% to 4,707.3 TWh. Environmental products showed particularly strong momentum, with trading volumes in Guarantees of Origin (GOs) more than doubling.
Geopolitical uncertainties led to periods of heightened volatility across energy and commodity markets during the first half of the year. In particular, demand for hedging transactions increased significantly in March. Market activity returned to more moderate levels during the remainder of the period.
Peter Reitz, CEO of EEX, comments: “The developments in the first half of the year demonstrate that our global growth strategy is delivering results. Growth across our international and Nordic power markets, together with continued demand for environmental products, reinforces EEX Group’s position as a leading global marketplace for energy and commodity products.”
International power markets drive EEX Group’s growth
Trading volumes on EEX Group’s Global Power markets, increased by 5% in the first half of 2026 compared to the same period last year. Growth was driven by both the European and the Group’s international power markets. In particular, the Nordic and Japanese power markets developed strongly, underlining the success of EEX Group’s global growth strategy.
Trading on the European Power Spot markets, increased by 15% year-on-year to 525.9 TWh, with EPEX SPOT recording strong increases both in the Day-ahead and in the Intraday segment.
The trading volume on the EEX European Power Derivatives markets rose by 6% to 5,161.0 TWh. EEX recorded particularly strong growth in Belgian Power Futures (+51%), CSEE Power Futures (+69%), Swiss Power Futures (+37%), Hungarian Power Futures (+34%) and Spanish Power Futures (+27%). Also British Power Futures picked up pace, recording the highest growth rate among EEX power derivatives (>10,000%).
The EEX Nordic Power Futures reported a sharp increase compared to H1/2025 (> 1,000%) with a trading volume of 20.9 TWh, reflecting increased participation and liquidity in these markets. Among EEX’s Nordic power suite, the highest trading volumes were recorded in the zones of Sweden 2, Sweden 3 and Finland. Also, last month, Nordic Power trading saw a significant increase in volumes (+ 525%) compared to the month of June 2025.
The Japanese power derivatives markets continued their dynamic expansion, with traded volumes increasing by 53% to 112.5 TWh in the first half of thyear, supported by growth in both Japanese power futures and options trading.
European gas markets continue to gain liquidity
Trading volumes on EEX Group’s global natural gas markets increased by 3% in the first half of 2026 compared to the same period last year. In addition to overall market growth, liquidity across European gas markets became increasingly distributed across a broader range of trading hubs. The strong growth in Belgium, Italy, Spain, UK and the Czech Republic highlights the ongoing diversification of trading activity across the European gas market areas.
In the European Natural Gas Spot markets, the volume remained almost stable, reaching 1,763.4 TWh, with higher trading activity in the UK NBP (+24%), the Czech VTP (+30%), the Baltic-Finnish (+79%) and in particular the Spanish PVB gas markets (+9,000%).
Growth was primarily driven by the European Natural Gas Derivatives markets, where volumes rose by 7% to 2,778.7 TWh. Particularly strong developments were recorded on the Belgian ZTP (+194%), the Italian PSV (+118%), the Czech VTP (+58%) and the Spanish PVB futures markets (+32%).
Environmental markets show particularly strong growth
The Group recorded strong growth in both emissions trading and the market for guarantees of origin. This development reflects the continued increase in demand for market-based instruments that support decarbonisation efforts and the implementation of sustainability strategies.
Volumes in European emissions trading increased by 11% year-on-year to 508.9 million tonnes of CO₂. This development was primarily driven by the Secondary Emissions Market, where volumes expanded by 72%, including a 74% increase in futures trading. In North America, trading in environmental products remained stable at a high level, while options volumes increased by 7% during the first half of the year.
At the same time, total volumes in the Group’s Guarantees of Origin segment more than doubled in H1 2026, rising by 135% to 81.7 TWh. Trading in the EEX GO Futures grew particularly strong and reached a volume of 50 TWh in H1 2026, which corresponds to an increase of 358%. The volumes in the GO spot auction at EPEX SPOT rose by 21% to 2,160 GWh.
Beyond its power, gas and environmental products, the EEX Group Global Freight markets reported a 6% increase in trading volumes in the first six months of 2026, reaching 691,526 lots. This growth was driven by a 12% rise in freight futures trading.
The full overview of EEX Group volumes for the first half year of 2026 is available here.
The June monthly volumes in detail are available here.
EEX Group builds secure, successful and sustainable commodity markets worldwide – together with its customers. The group offers trading in power, natural gas, environmental products, freight and agriculturals as well as subsequent clearing and registry services, connecting a network of more than 1,000 trading participants. EEX Group consists of European Energy Exchange (EEX), EPEX SPOT, Power Exchange Central Europe (PXE) and Nodal Exchange as well as the software companies KB Tech and Lacima. Clearing is provided by EEX Group’s clearing houses European Commodity Clearing (ECC) and Nodal Clear. EEX Group is part of Deutsche Börse Group. More information: www.eex-group.com
