Solid earnings and record renewables portfolio

With adjusted earnings before tax of 186 million EUR, Danske Commodities delivered a solid financial result within our guidance for the year. The result was mainly driven by a strong performance in our power business, while our gas business struggled due to a challenging environment for the gas storage portfolio and markets characterised by geopolitical risk. 

With the market conditions in mind, we find the earnings for the year satisfactory, and we are proud to say that while delivering these results, we also made significant strategic progress throughout the year: we strengthened our position within management of renewables and flexible assets, we expanded our global footprint, we enhanced our algorithmic trading setup, we implemented a new gas ETRM system landscape and we introduced a new employee value proposition to make Danske Commodities an even better place to work. 

Record portfolio of renewables and flexible assets

In 2024, we once again grew our portfolio of wind, solar and flexible assets, reaching a total of more than 14 GW under contract. This is an increase of 20% compared to 2023 and a new record for our company. 

Apart from the sheer growth in numbers, highlights for the year included signing the biggest renewables deal in Danske Commodities’ history with a 1.4 GW balancing agreement for Polish offshore wind projects Bałtyk 2 and 3 and going live with our first renewables asset in Brazil, the 531 MW solar park Mendubim.

Within the flexible asset space, we signed an agreement to optimise Kassø, the world’s largest commercial Power-to-X facility, located in Southern Denmark, we expanded our battery portfolio in the UK with the Welkin Mill battery storage asset and we reached the milestone of optimising more than 100 combined heat and power plants in Denmark, making Danske Commodities the biggest participant in the Danish decentralised market.

At Danske Commodities, we approach asset management with a portfolio mindset, understanding that renewables and flexibility go hand in hand as renewable energy cannot stand alone. 

Now active on five continents

A cornerstone in our current corporate strategy, ‘Transition FWD’, is the global expansion of our business model with the aim of being active on five continents by 2025. We reached that target when we successfully entered the Japanese power market in January 2024. In the coming strategy period, we will be looking into physical trading as we are gearing up to support the energy transition and the growing share of renewables in the country. 

In addition to the Japan entry, 2024 was also the year when we entered the Canadian power market, meaning that we are now active in all tradable areas in North America. 

Strengthened setup for algorithmic trading

Trading is at the core of Danske Commodities’ business. It is our trading engine and our market presence that allow us to offer balancing and optimisation services to wind farms, solar parks and flexible energy sources, and it is through trading that we bring energy from where it is plentiful to where it is needed most, thereby helping security of supply.

The number of trades conducted during a single day has risen tremendously over the past years, and in 2024, the number of average trades a day grew to more than 60,000. On peak days, we can even surpass 100,000 trades. Many of these trades are carried out by automated solutions overseen by our traders. When it comes to algorithmic trading, speed is of the essence, which is why we strengthened our tech setup in 2024 to make our algorithmic trading faster and more scalable.

Sustainable high performance. Together.

Working in an energy trading company means working in a high-performance environment. The people of Danske Commodities may be a diverse group in terms of education, age, nationalities and cultural backgrounds, but they all have one thing in common: they are ambitious. They have joined Danske Commodities to make a difference.

We take pride in fostering a workplace, where ambitious people thrive, and we want to make sure that they continue to thrive in a high-performance environment. In 2024, we introduced a new employee value proposition called ‘Sustainable high performance. Together.’, aiming at ensuring that our performance culture is sustainable over time. The employee value proposition outlines a range of initiatives to support this, including an increased budget for people development, employee-driven donations to charities of their choosing, a new health strategy and, not least, the so-called ‘Fuel Fridays’ – an extra monthly day off that our employees can use on any activity that fuels their energy. 

Outlook: challenging market conditions ahead 

In 2025, we expect market conditions to be impacted by geopolitical uncertainty and ongoing challenges in the renewables market. Based on this outlook, we anticipate adjusted earnings before tax for 2025 within the EUR 100-200 million range. Though the energy transition is challenged, companies like Danske Commodities, who can optimise energy markets and help balance supply and demand on a global scale, will only become more relevant as the world’s need for energy continues to grow. 

Despite challenging market conditions ahead, our strategic ambitions are high, and we remain as committed as ever to contribute positively to the energy transition.

Full annual reports

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Full annual reports

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Since becoming a balance responsible party (BRP) for flexible assets in 2012, Danske Commodities has steadily grown its flexibility business. A milestone was reached in 2024, with the portfolio now including more than 100 CHPs in Denmark.  

Access to wholesale electricity markets  

As balance responsible party, we connect energy producers and large-scale consumers to wholesale electricity markets.  

One of our most important responsibilities is to provide access to all relevant markets. This is how we help create value for customers – and 2024 was no exception. In October, the Danish TSO Energinet started buying its activated Automatic Frequency Restoration Reserves (aFRR) according to the European standard for ancillary services, called Picasso. 

 We began preparing for this change in the spring, which meant that Danske Commodities was one of the first balance responsible parties active in aFRR services, allowing us to create good value for our customers. Adding aFRR services complement our existing offerings, including manual Frequency Restoration Reserves (mFRR), has made Danske Commodities well-positioned to capture value from flexibility, which also benefits the energy transition.  

Flexibility is crucial to the energy transition  

A report from the EU’s energy regulatory authority ACER concludes that flexibility in the European energy system must double by 2030 to keep up with the growth of renewable energy ("Flexibility solutions to support a decarbonised and secure EU electricity system”). 
 
Flexible energy production and batteries will play an even more important role in ensuring energy security as we increase the share of renewable energy. To succeed, we must make sure that dispatchable assets like CHPs can participate in energy markets from the day-ahead market to the intraday market as well as the balancing market. This creates value for both consumers and CHPs. 

Next up: expansion to new markets  

After years of developing proprietary systems and investing in our setup, Danske Commodities is now ready to expand the flexibility business model to new markets. Besides our market-leading position in Denmark, we are expanding and adding market shares in Sweden, Norway, the UK and Poland.  

By the end of 2024, Danske Commodities has more than 2 GW of flexible assets under management and provides market access to day-ahead, intraday and all balancing markets, including mFRR, aFRR and FCR.  

Under the agreements, Danske Commodities will be responsible for trading and balancing the power produced from Bałtyk 2 and Bałtyk 3 in the Polish wholesale and balancing electricity market.  

Clean energy for two million households  

Bałtyk 2 and 3 will have a combined capacity of 1,440 MW and help supply two million Polish households with clean energy from the Baltic Sea. The energy will be generated by 260 metre-high turbines, with blades up to 115 metres long, which is more than the wingspan of an Airbus 380, the world’s biggest passenger plane.  

The Bałtyk projects are owned by Polenergia (50%) and our parent company, Equinor (50%). Commercial operations date (COD) is expected in 2028.  

Managing the uncontrollable 

Since winds cannot be controlled, how can you plan power production from a wind turbine? This is where balance responsible parties like Danske Commodities come into the picture. As offshore wind projects like Bałtyk are placed in open waters, there is much wind to be harvested but the strength of the winds also makes it difficult to balance the assets. If wind gusts exceed 28 mph, it is no longer safe for the turbines to operate, and they will shut down. So, you might have a scenario, where the power production can go from peak output to producing 0 megawatts in a very short time frame.     

In other words, the power production from wind turbines is variable and output will fluctuate with changing weather conditions. To help transmission system operators match production and consumption in the grid, we forecast the expected production on a continuous basis. Every day, we look at our forecasts and trade the majority of the wind production in the day-ahead market the day before delivery. On the day of delivery, we will look at the newest forecast, adjust our position accordingly in close-to-real-time and trade the remaining production in the intraday market, down to 15 minutes before physical delivery.  

By combining forecasting and weather analysis capabilities with strong algorithmic trading skills in a 24/7 setup, we help manage something as uncontrollable as the wind, ultimately bringing balance to energy systems and value to assets owners.  

We want to support the energy transition in Poland  

The Polish energy sector is among the largest in Europe, and the country is amid a transition to more renewable energy. In 2024, renewables accounted for 29% of Poland’s power production, which is a new record. Poland is also emerging as a core renewables market for Danske Commodities, building on our 15 years of power trading experience from the Polish market. 

In 2024, we also signed a balancing agreement for Lipno, Equinor Group’s third solar park in Poland, adding to our growing portfolio of wind and solar in the region. The portfolio growth follows the strategic ambitions of Equinor, which aims to support the energy transition by building a broad energy offering in Poland, including both onshore and offshore renewables. 

As the build-out of renewables in Poland continues, Danske Commodities is ready to support both Equinor and third-party energy producers by creating value uplift from power trading.  

Flexibility is at the heart of the energy system’s green transformation. On a global scale, integrating renewable energy sources like solar and wind into production processes is essential to reduce carbon emissions. Power-to-X technology bridges the gap by converting surplus electricity into sustainable fuels, such as hydrogen or e-methanol, that can be stored and used when renewable generation dips. 

Europe’s largest commercial power-to-X 

Kassø power-to-X is Europe’s largest commercial facility of its kind, capable of producing 32,000 tonnes of e-methanol annually. Located next to the Kassø solar park, which is the largest in the Nordics. The power-to-X facility plays a pivotal role in decarbonising hard-to-electrify sectors like shipping and plastics production. Its innovative approach demonstrates how renewable energy sources can power tomorrow’s industries while adding much-needed flexibility to the grid. 

Aligning production and consumption 

At Danske Commodities, we provide critical support to the Kassø facility by balancing and optimising its power consumption. With our advanced forecasting tools and real-time market expertise, we ensure that the plant consumes electricity in the most cost-efficient hours and exports surplus solar energy to the grid when production exceeds demand. 

This optimisation not only maximises the plant’s operational efficiency but also reinforces the flexibility of the broader energy market. The partnership builds on Danske Commodities’ broad experience managing renewable energy and flexible assets, marking its first Power-to-X collaboration. 

A model for the future 

By combining European Energy and Mitsui’s ambitions with our trading expertise, the Kassø Power-to-X facility showcases a scalable solution to global sustainability challenges. The project provides a blueprint for harnessing the full potential of renewables while advancing the green transition across industries. As the plant ramps up production in late 2024, its success underlines the importance of innovative partnerships in shaping a cleaner energy future.