Powernext is a regulated investment firm based in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 and operating under the multilateral trading facility

Multilateral Trading Facility

A Multilateral Trading Facility is a specific type of European financial trading system. The concept was introduced within the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive , a European financial law, and describes a trading venue that brings together buyers and sellers in a non-discretionary way...

 status. Powernext designs and operates electronic trading platform

Electronic trading platform

In finance, an Electronic trading platform is a computer system that can be used to place orders for financial products over a network with a financial intermediary. This includes products such as shares, bonds, currencies, commodities and derivatives with a financial intermediary, such as a...

s for spot

Spot market

The spot market or cash market is a public financial market, in which financial instruments or commodities are traded for immediate delivery. It contrasts with a futures market in which delivery is due at a later date...

 and derivatives market

Derivatives market

The derivatives market is the financial market for derivatives, financial instruments like futures contracts or options, which are derived from other forms of assets....

s in the European energy sector. Powernext plans to broaden its product offer to other areas, operated on its own or in partnership for other exchanges through service provision.

Powernext's capital is held by a group of twelve European transmission system operator

Transmission system operator

File:Electricity grid simple- North America.svg|thumb|380px|right|Simplified diagram of AC electricity distribution from generation stations to consumersrect 2 243 235 438 Power stationrect 276 317 412 556 Transformer...

s in electricity

Electricity

Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...

 and natural gas

Natural gas

Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...

, and European energy utilities such as RTE

Réseau de Transport d'Électricité

Réseau de Transport d'Électricité , usually known as RTE, is the electricity transmission system operator of France...

, GRTgaz

GRTgaz

GRTgaz is the operator of a gas transmission system in France. This system consists of pipelines through which natural gas flows at high pressure, in excess of 60 bar...

, EDF

EDF Energy

EDF Energy is an integrated energy company in the United Kingdom, with operations spanning electricity generation and the sale of gas and electricity to homes and businesses throughout the United Kingdom...

, GDF Suez

GDF Suez

GDF Suez S.A. is a French multinational energy company which operates in the fields of electricity generation and distribution, natural gas and renewable energy. The world's largest utility after taking control of Britain's International Power, the company was initially formed by the merger of Gaz...

, Total

Total S.A.

Total S.A. is a French multinational oil company and one of the six "Supermajor" oil companies in the world.Its businesses cover the entire oil and gas chain, from crude oil and natural gas exploration and production to power generation, transportation, refining, petroleum product marketing, and...

 and others.

Powernext SA, incorporated in 2001, manages several energy market

Energy market

Energy markets are those commodities markets that deal specifically with the trade and supply of energy. Energy market may refer to an electricity market, but can also refer to other sources of energy...

s: Powernext Gas Spot and Powernext Gas Futures were launched on November 26, 2008 in order to hedge volume and price risks for natural gas in France from intraday to the next three gas seasons.

EPEX Spot, based in Paris and owned equally by Powernext and by EEX

European Energy eXchange

European Energy Exchange AG, Germany's energy exchange, is the leading energy exchange in Central Europe.-Overview:The European Energy Exchange is located in Leipzig. Preceding companies were LPX Leipzig Power Exchange, located in Leipzig and European Energy Exchange, located in Frankfurt...

, the German energy exchange, was launched on January 1, 2009 and facilitates the hourly balancing of physical power delivered the following day on the French, German/Austrian and Swiss hubs. In April 2009, Powernext contributed the French power derivatives

Derivative (finance)

A derivative instrument is a contract between two parties that specifies conditions—in particular, dates and the resulting values of the underlying variables—under which payments, or payoffs, are to be made between the parties.Under U.S...

 to EEX Power Derivatives, a company dedicated to European power derivatives, based in Leipzig

Leipzig

Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...

, against a 20% equity stake in this company.

Powernext Carbon, the spot EUA market, was sold to NYSE Euronext in December 2007.