FCR capacity
FCR gate closes
Submit frequency containment capacity bids by 08:00 CET. First capacity auction of the trading day; awards MW for all periods on delivery day D.
Knowledge - reference timelines for German balancing markets (DE-LU) · no account needed
Market Structure
European electricity trades through capacity auctions, day-ahead clearing, continuous intraday, and real-time balancing energy - each with its own gate closure and delivery horizon.
Day-Ahead Auction
A sealed-bid uniform-price auction run once per day. Suppliers and buyers submit price-quantity curves; the exchange clears all hours simultaneously at the intersection price. Covers roughly 60–80% of physical delivery.
Gate close: 12:00 CET (D-1)
Products: hourly, 15-min, block
Pricing: uniform / pay-as-cleared
Intraday Continuous
A live order book where bids and offers match on price-time priority, similar to a stock exchange. Traders use it to rebalance positions as forecasts update - from gate open until 5 minutes before delivery.
Trading: continuous until GCT
Products: 15-min, hourly, block
Pricing: pay-as-bid
Balancing (aFRR / mFRR)
Two-stage markets: capacity (Kapazauktion / Leistungsmarkt on D−1) then energy (Regelarbeitsmarkt / BEM - merit orders per 15-min period, cleared during delivery). FCR acts first (within ~30 s, planned Q4 2026 on PEXim); aFRR restores frequency (~5 min); mFRR follows (~15 min).
aFRR cap GCT: 09:00 CET (D−1)
BEM opens: after Kapazauktion (~09:00+) · GCT T−25
Pricing: cap pay-as-bid · energy pay-as-cleared
Strategy
How placements shrink battery flexibility
A 10 MW / 10 MWh battery starts with full headroom. Each market commitment reserves MW at the edge or in the schedule. What remains is what your strategy can still trade.
free trading band
10 MW
nameplate power
- FCR capacity
- aFRR cap ↑
- aFRR cap ↓
- mFRR cap ↑
- mFRR cap ↓
- Day-ahead
- Intraday dispatch
- Remaining flex
Trading Calendar
Milestones for when you can place bids, when gates close, and when results arrive - mapped to delivery day D. Timings reflect German balancing market schedules (DE-LU).
FCR
aFRR cap
mFRR cap
Day-ahead
Intraday
aFRR energy
mFRR energy
Bid today → deliver tomorrow
Capacity auctions and day-ahead clearing run on the trading day before physical delivery.
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Place bids ~08:45 Results FCR awards published. Reserved MW confirmed for day D.
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Place bids aFRR capacityaFRR capacity gate closes
Kapazauktion (Leistungsmarkt): six 4-hour EFA blocks per day; gate at 09:00 CET on D−1 (pay-as-bid). The 16:00–20:00 block covers the 18:00 quarter-hour. Capacity winners must also submit energy bids once the BEM opens.
~09:30 Awards & BEM opens aFRR energyAfter Kapazauktion results are published, the Regelarbeitsmarkt (BEM) opens for aFRR energy. Submit €/MWh merit orders until T−25 min before each 15-min period on day D. Energy-only participation is allowed; capacity winners must also bid energy.
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Place bids mFRR capacitymFRR capacity gate closes
Manual frequency restoration capacity for delivery day D. Activated within ~15 minutes when aFRR is insufficient. mFRR energy merit orders open here (~10:00) until T−25 min per period.
~10:30 Awards mFRR capacity reservation confirmed.
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Place bids Day-aheadDay-ahead auction closes
Sealed price–quantity curves for all 24 hours of day D - hourly and 15-min products.
~12:57 Results Clearing runs right after the 12:00 gate close. Preliminary prices from ~12:42; final 15-min vectors typically by ~12:57–13:00 (not a second auction). Financial settlement follows later.
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Trade continuously IntradayIntraday market opens
Continuous order book opens at 15:00 CET on D−1 (after day-ahead). Trading runs until 5 min before each period - e.g. 17:55 for the 18:00–18:15 slot.
Bid at T−25 → dispatch at T
Balancing energy repeats every 15 minutes. Walk-through for the 18:00–18:15 quarter-hour below.
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1
Place bids aFRR energy mFRR energySubmit merit orders
Update aFRR €/MWh curves until T−25 min (17:35 for 18:00). BEM for aFRR opened after the D−1 Kapazauktion (~09:30); mFRR energy from ~10:00 on D−1.
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2
Gate close Merit order locked
Energy gate closes at T−25 min. No further bids for 18:00–18:15.
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3
Dispatch TSO activation
PICASSO (aFRR) clears pay-as-cleared every ~4 s during the period; MARI handles mFRR. The asset follows automatic setpoints - activated MWh is not known upfront.
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4
Settlement Delivery & settlement
Asset ramps to setpoint. In PEXim, historical TSO activation data is replayed after the period ends (~within 1 min) to settle merit-order fills and P&L.
Worked example: 18:00–18:15 on day D
When can you trade the 18:00–18:15 quarter-hour? Bars show when each market accepts bids (CET). aFRR energy (BEM) opens only after the capacity gate closes at 09:00 on D−1; each 15-min period closes at T−25 min.
- FCR capacity - bid by D−1 08:00
- aFRR capacity (16:00–20:00 block) - bid by D−1 09:00
- mFRR capacity - bid by D−1 10:00
- Day-ahead - bid by D−1 12:00
- Intraday - D−1 15:00 → D 17:55
- aFRR energy (BEM) - from D−1 09:00 (after cap gate) → D 17:35
- mFRR energy - D−1 ~10:00 → D 17:35
- Physical delivery 18:00–18:15
What Makes a Good Optimizer?
Key metrics that separate competitive trading algorithms from average ones.
Fill Rate
The percentage of submitted volume that actually executes. High fill rates mean your pricing is competitive and your timing is right. Low fill rates waste opportunity cost on orders that sit in the book.
VWAP Deviation
How far your average execution price deviates from the volume-weighted average market price. Negative deviation (buying below VWAP, selling above) is the goal. This measures execution quality independent of strategy direction.
Multi-Market Arbitrage
The best optimizers trade across DA, intraday, and aFRR simultaneously. Buying cheap in the day-ahead and selling into intraday or aFRR at a premium captures the spread between markets.
Forecast-Responsive Rebalancing
Markets move as forecasts update. An optimizer that adjusts positions when new wind or solar data arrives consistently outperforms static strategies that set-and-forget after the DA auction.