German Revenue Stack

Overview of revenue streams available to battery storage in the German market

Available Markets

In Germany, battery storage assets can participate in the following revenue streams:

Energy Markets

Market Granularity Description
Day-ahead 15-minute Main wholesale market cleared day before delivery
Intraday Auctions and Continuous Market 15-minute Continuous trading up to 5 minutes before delivery

Ancillary Services

Service Product Duration Procurement Description
FCR 4-hour blocks Day-ahead Primary frequency control with symmetric provision
aFRR Capacity 4-hour blocks Day-ahead Secondary frequency control capacity reservation
aFRR Energy 15-minute Real-time Energy payments for activated aFRR

Day-ahead Market

The day-ahead market is the primary wholesale market where most energy is traded. Key characteristics:

  • 15-minute granularity – finer resolution than hourly markets in other countries
  • Single clearing – market clears once per day for all delivery periods
  • Pay-as-cleared – all accepted bids receive the marginal clearing price

Batteries participate by offering to charge during low-price periods and discharge during high-price periods, capturing the spread.

Intraday Market

The intraday market allows participants to adjust positions after the day-ahead market closes:

  • Continuous trading – trades executed as matched, not in discrete auctions
  • Gate closure – 5 minutes before delivery (one of Europe’s shortest)
  • Price volatility – prices can deviate significantly from day-ahead as forecasts update

This market is increasingly important for batteries as renewable forecast errors create trading opportunities close to real-time.

Frequency Response Services

Frequency Containment Reserve (FCR)

FCR is the fastest-responding frequency service, activated automatically when grid frequency deviates from 50 Hz:

  • Symmetric provision – equal capacity must be offered in both directions (charge and discharge)
  • 4-hour blocks – capacity contracted in 4-hour windows
  • Cross-border procurement – traded through the FCR Cooperation platform with AT, BE, CZ, DK, NL, FR, SI, CH
  • Pay-as-cleared – marginal pricing through the cooperation
  • Full activation time – 30 seconds
  • Minimum bid – 1 MW

Automatic Frequency Restoration Reserve (aFRR)

aFRR is secondary frequency control that restores frequency after FCR activation:

  • Asymmetric products – separate positive (upward) and negative (downward) capacity
  • 4-hour blocks – capacity contracted day-ahead
  • Pay-as-bid – capacity payments at bid price (German TSO procurement)
  • Full activation time – 5 minutes
  • Minimum bid – 1 MW

aFRR Energy Activation

When aFRR capacity is called upon, energy payments are made separately:

  • 15-minute granularity – energy settled at quarter-hour resolution
  • Pay-as-cleared – through the PICASSO platform (AT, CZ, DE, IT, NL, DK)
  • Real-time procurement – activated based on system needs

Key Market Parameters

Key ancillary services markets