AggregateEU – one year on

Roughly 12 months after the AggregateEU platform was launched, the Commission is keen to draw a positive balance from the platform’s success in 2023 – in aggregating demand and coordinating the purchase of natural gas - and in the strong interest it has attracted from market players. Looking forward, the EU Energy Platform team held a webinar this week explaining to stakeholders how the new concept of “mid-term tenders” is intended to work.

Addressing the webinar, Executive Vice President Maroš Šefčovič said

'The joint purchasing mechanism, which was brought into existence in only a couple of months and under the enormous economic and political pressure of the energy crisis, has undoubtedly been a great success. The market showed great interest in the scheme in all 4 of last year’s tenders and Aggregate EU managed to match buyers and sellers in deals covering more than 42 bcm. Looking forward, with buyers and sellers still calling for market predictability, we have managed to prepare and reach an agreement on new legislation that will turn the joint purchase of gas into a permanent instrument. Therefore, we will continue organising the joint purchase of gas on a voluntary basis, while seeking to make it more attractive.'

As part of the REPowerEU plan - the EU’s response to the energy crisis caused by Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine -  the Commission was tasked to establish a demand aggregation and joint purchasing platform in order to reduce dependence on imports of Russian gas and coordinate gas purchases amongst European companies.

Launched in 2023, the demand aggregation and joint purchasing mechanism, called AggregateEU, had the objective of contributing to ensuring sufficient and diversified gas supplies for the winter 2023/2024 in EU and Energy Community countries. AggregateEU also aimed at stabilising prices and increasing predictability in a context of great market volatility, vulnerability of infrastructures and the Kremlin’s weaponisation of its gas exports. This was achieved by providing the market with greater visibility on European gas demand and international available supplies. 

Results in 2023

4 tendering rounds were organised in 2023 (between April to December). These covered 25 delivery points and 2 LNG virtual points (North-West, and South-East). During these 4 rounds, more than 54 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas demand from European companies were aggregated and more than 61 bcm were offered by international suppliers. After seeking the most competitive offers, AggregateEU matched more than 42 bcm to cover European demand.  

Platform now looks at mid-term tenders

In early 2024, with the effects of the energy crisis still not over, AggregateEU is introducing a different concept of mid-term tenders in order to address the growing demand for stability and predictability from buyers and sellers of natural gas. Under such tenders, buyers will be able to submit their demand for seasonal 6-month periods (for a minimum 1,800,000 MWh for LNG and 30,000 for NBP per period), going from April 2024 to October 2029. This is intended to support sellers in identifying buyers who might be interested in a longer trading partnership – i.e. up to 5 years. Mid-term tenders will not only increase security of supply but also help European industrial players increase their competitiveness.

The first mid-term tender will take place on 15 February 2024. In order to participate, buyers and sellers must already be registered with PRISMA (the service provider) and have a subscription to AggregateEU (any new entities must registered by 12 February 2024). More information is available on the dedicated PRSIMA website.

Related links

• EU Energy Platform
• AggregateEU – questions and answers