EEX launches CBAM reference price and wins national ETS auction mandate

EEX rolled out a CBAM reference price on 29 August 2025. The benchmark is designed to give importers a single, exchange-derived carbon value for use in CBAM declarations, replacing the patchwork of bespoke calculations that firms have relied on during the regulation's transitional phase.

Five weeks later, on 2 October 2025, EEX announced it had been awarded a mandate to act as the auctioning and sale platform for national emission certificates. The announcement extends EEX's remit beyond its existing role running EU ETS primary auctions on behalf of the European Commission and member states.

Together, the two developments deepen EEX's grip on European carbon market infrastructure at a moment when CBAM is moving from reporting-only toward full financial liability. From 2026, importers will owe actual carbon payments; a liquid, exchange-published reference price carries direct P&L consequences for trading desks and procurement teams exposed to CBAM sectors: steel, aluminium, cement, fertilisers, and electricity.

The national ETS mandate is a separate track. Several EU member states operate or are developing domestic carbon schemes alongside the bloc-wide ETS. Winning auction-platform rights in that segment gives EEX a revenue line and market-data position that sits outside the main EU ETS framework.