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Energy Exchange Austria

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Energy Exchange Austria is an electronic marketplace for day-ahead electricity trading and related energy-market services.

Last updated August 25, 2026

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Overview

Energy Exchange Austria, commonly known as EXAA, is an Austrian electronic marketplace for energy products. It operates organized auction-based spot markets rather than functioning as a conventional consumer-facing electricity retailer. Its core role is to bring together buy and sell orders from energy companies, establish transparent market-clearing prices and arrange the physical delivery and post-trading processes associated with completed transactions. EXAA was established on 8 June 2001 after Austria's electricity market was fully liberalized on 1 October of the same year. Spot trading began on 21 March 2002 in the Austrian APG control area, initially with twelve participants. The exchange subsequently expanded into German control areas and later into additional European market areas. Its current physical delivery footprint covers Austria, all four German transmission-control areas—Amprion, TenneT, TransnetBW and 50Hertz—as well as the Netherlands, France and Belgium. The non-Austrian share of its participant base has become predominant, and the platform serves around 65 electricity-trading companies from more than ten countries. The principal EXAA service is day-ahead auction trading. Participants can submit orders for individual hourly products, standard and special blocks, and quarter-hour products. The exchange operates an independent 10:15 auction, which provides an early price reference for the participating market areas, and also facilitates participation in the 12:00 European market-coupling auction. Products can be physically settled in the relevant control or bidding zones. Following an auction, participants receive the market-clearing price and allocated quantities, with physical delivery taking place on the following day. EXAA has developed specialized instruments intended to help traders manage portfolios and exploit price differences. Location-spread products enable simultaneous buying in one geographical price zone and selling in another, creating a form of virtual coupling. The cross-auction spread, introduced in 2022, is designed to address price differences between the independent 10:15 auction and the later 12:00 market-coupling auction. The platform also supports post-trading, allowing surplus quantities to be traded at the established market-clearing price. The exchange has emphasized transparency, neutrality and accessible electronic execution. Orders are submitted through a browser-based interface, while electronic security keys protect access. EXAA has also supported regulatory reporting and market transparency: in 2015 it was recognized by the European energy regulator ACER as a Registered Reporting Mechanism under REMIT and was appointed Austria's Nominated Electricity Market Operator by E-Control. Since 2021, EXAA has cooperated closely with Central Counterparty Austria, which assumed clearing of financial transactions and responsibility for collateral and risk-management functions. Beyond trading, EXAA operates the teem training program for electricity, gas and environmental markets. The courses serve both new entrants and experienced energy professionals and may lead to a trader diploma after examination. EXAA has also been associated with carbon-market services and with earlier operational work for the Hungarian day-ahead market. In 2012 it introduced EXAA Green Power, described as the first European electricity-exchange offering that enabled participants to trade green electricity. The organization remains an active specialist market infrastructure provider for European power trading.

History

Energy Exchange Austria was created during the restructuring of the Austrian electricity market. Its legal foundation was established on 8 June 2001, shortly before Austria completed electricity-market liberalization on 1 October 2001. This liberalization made it possible to establish an organized electricity exchange. EXAA commenced spot trading on 21 March 2002 in the Austrian APG control area, initially supporting twelve market participants and individual hourly products. The platform broadened its product range in 2003 by adding block products and post-trading. In 2004 it entered Germany through the TenneT control area, then operated by E.ON, and in 2005 added the Amprion area, then associated with RWE. The same year it began trading carbon dioxide certificates. EXAA opened access to the Swiss control area in 2006, although that area was later discontinued. Between 2002 and 2006 it also acted as an auction office for capacity auctions. In 2008 EXAA converted its auction algorithm to improve the reliability of market-order execution and began publishing recurring analyses of the energy spot market. In 2009 it added the TransnetBW and 50Hertz control areas and launched teem, a training program covering energy and environmental markets. EXAA subsequently operated the Hungarian market area's business under an arrangement with the Prague energy exchange PXE. That responsibility began in 2011 and ended in 2012, when EXAA introduced its Green Power market. The exchange also cooperated with Greenmarket-Exchange on carbon-market activities while closing its own carbon spot market. EXAA introduced green-electricity trading in 2012 and negative prices in 2013, initially using a range from minus EUR 150 to plus EUR 3,000 per megawatt-hour. In 2014 it launched what it described as Europe's first quarter-hour auction. In 2015 the exchange became one of the early European market participants recognized by ACER as a Registered Reporting Mechanism under REMIT. It also began direct reporting under the regulation and was appointed a Nominated Electricity Market Operator in Austria by E-Control. The exchange continued to refine its market design. In 2018 it introduced two auctions for Austrian and German market areas, which were separated on 1 October. In 2019 EXAA introduced physical location spreads, enabling participants to trade geographical price differences through simultaneous positions in separate price zones. It also entered the European 12:00 market-coupling auction, with participant access beginning on 2 July 2019, and launched an API interface for trading partners in 2020. A major institutional change came in 2021, when EXAA began close cooperation with Central Counterparty Austria. CCPA took over clearing for financial transactions and EXAA's collateral and risk-management functions. In 2022 EXAA added the cross-auction spread, allowing portfolio managers to address price differences between the independent 10:15 auction and the 12:00 market-coupling auction. The exchange expanded beyond its Austrian and German core in the mid-2020s. Its 10:15 auction entered the Netherlands in 2024 and France and Belgium in 2025. The 12:00 market-coupling offering subsequently covered Austria, Germany, France, Belgium and the Netherlands, with quarter-hour products also becoming available in that auction in September 2025. EXAA's published roadmap describes a further market-coupling extension to France, Belgium and the Netherlands in 2026. Alongside trading, its teem program continued to provide in-house and online education for energy-sector employees, including preparation for a trader diploma.

  • 2025

    French and Belgian expansion

    [1]

    EXAA launched its 10:15 auction in France and Belgium and expanded quarter-hour availability to the 12:00 market-coupling auction.

  • 2024

    Dutch market expansion

    [1]

    EXAA launched its 10:15 auction in the Netherlands.

  • 2022

    Cross-auction spread introduced

    [1]

    EXAA added a product for trading price differences between its independent and market-coupling auctions.

  • 2021

    Clearing cooperation with CCPA

    [1]

    Central Counterparty Austria took over clearing-related and risk-management functions under a cooperation with EXAA.

  • 2019

    Location spreads and market coupling

    [1]

    EXAA introduced physical location spreads and enabled participants to access the European 12:00 market-coupling auction.

  • 2018

    Austrian and German auctions are separated

    [1]

    EXAA introduced two auctions for the Austrian and German market areas, which were separated on 1 October.

  • 2015

    REMIT reporting and NEMO role

    [1]

    EXAA received ACER recognition as a Registered Reporting Mechanism and became a Nominated Electricity Market Operator in Austria.

  • 2014

    Quarter-hour auction launches

    [1]

    EXAA introduced a quarter-hour auction described by the exchange as Europe's first.

  • 2013

    Negative prices become tradable

    [1]

    The exchange introduced negative electricity prices within a defined price range.

  • 2012

    EXAA Green Power launches

    [1]

    EXAA introduced organized trading in green electricity.

Products and positioning

A specialist, neutral and transparent European electricity-market platform focused on auction-based day-ahead trading, early price discovery, cross-zone portfolio optimization and regulated market infrastructure.

  • Electricity market

    10:15 Day-Ahead Auction

    EXAA's independent early day-ahead auction collects orders for hourly, quarter-hour and block products and produces an early price reference for participating market areas. The auction is intended to provide a useful first indication of market conditions before later trading and to support portfolio optimization across Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, France and Belgium.

  • Electricity market · 2019

    12:00 Market-Coupling Auction

    This auction connects EXAA participants with the European market-coupling process. Order books and available cross-border transmission capacity are considered together, producing prices for the covered bidding zones. The offering supports standard day-ahead contracts and, from September 2025, quarter-hour products.

  • Green electricity · 2012

    EXAA Green Power

    EXAA Green Power is the exchange's green-electricity trading offering, introduced in 2012. It enabled trading participants to transact green electricity through an organized auction environment rather than relying solely on bilateral arrangements.

  • Spread product · 2019

    Location Spread

    Location spreads allow a participant to place linked positions in two geographical price zones. When accepted, the product simultaneously buys in one zone and sells in another, allowing traders to manage or exploit price differences while arranging physical settlement in the relevant areas.

  • Spread product · 2022

    Cross-Auction Spread

    Introduced in 2022, the cross-auction spread addresses price differences between EXAA's independent 10:15 auction and the later 12:00 market-coupling auction. It gives participants an additional instrument for arbitrage and portfolio management across the two auction mechanisms.

  • Professional education · 2009

    teem Training

    teem, short for training for energy and environmental markets, provides in-house, online and specialist courses covering electricity and gas-market structures, exchange price formation, environmental markets and current operational issues. Participants may take an examination leading to an EXAA trader diploma.

Brand decisions

  • 2022

    Launch of the cross-auction spreadProduct launch

    Background

    Participants needed an instrument for managing price differences between EXAA's independent early auction and the later European market-coupling auction.

    Action taken

    EXAA introduced the cross-auction spread as an additional portfolio-optimization product.

    Aftermath

    The product expanded EXAA's spread-trading toolkit beyond geographical location spreads.

    Source

  • 2021

    Transfer of clearing and risk-management functions to CCPAStrategy

    Background

    EXAA sought closer integration with Central Counterparty Austria for the handling of financial-market clearing, collateral and risk management.

    Action taken

    EXAA entered into a close cooperation with CCPA, which assumed the relevant clearing, collateral and risk-management responsibilities.

    Aftermath

    The arrangement became part of EXAA's post-trade infrastructure while the exchange continued operating its trading venue.

    Source

Sources2 sources

  1. 1Energy Exchange Austriaen.wikipedia.org
  2. 2Energy Exchange Austria official websiteexaa.at

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