ICE Futures Europe

In May 2000, IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) was established, with its founding shareholders representing some of the world's largest energy companies and global banks. ICE's mission was to transform OTC energy markets by providing an open, accessible, around-the-clock electronic energy marketplace to a previously fragmented and opaque market. ICE offered the energy community price transparency, more efficiency, greater liquidity and lower costs than manual trading, such as voice or floor markets. Working together with participants in the energy markets, ICE developed the leading electronic marketplace for energy commodities, along with the leading electronic trade confirmation platform. ICE Data was launched in 2002 to meet the demand for increased market data in the OTC energy markets, and is today one of the leading providers globally. ICE has developed and maintained its state-of-the-art technology infrastructure for trading, trade processing, clearing, market data and risk management, investing over $120 million in technology since inception.

In June 2001, ICE expanded its business into the futures markets by acquiring the International Petroleum Exchange (IPE), now ICE Futures Europe, Europe's leading regulated energy futures exchange. ICE Futures Europe's markets today account for approximately 50% of the world's crude oil and refined futures traded each day. In April 2005, ICE Futures Europe became the first fully electronic energy exchange. Since 2003, ICE has partnered with the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) to host its OTC emissions markets, and today offers the leading European emissions futures in conjunction with the European Climate Exchange (ECX) ¿ the ICE/ECX carbon futures contracts are the most widely relied upon carbon contracts globally.