A Beginner’s Guide to the M7 Application Programming Interface

Category
energy-trading
Written on
24 Apr 2023
Authored by
Gautam Kotian, Lead Software Engineer
Learn more about the peculiarities of the M7 API and the mechanics of connecting a trading application to the EPEX Spot backend system
No alternative text provided

Intraday markets are among the most liquid power markets in Europe. In 2022, the total volume of Intraday trades executed on EPEX Spot reached a new all-time high of 134,6 GWh (compared to 123,3 GWh in 2021).

As many as 83,6% of orders executed on the exchange came from all kinds of automated trading applications which are in some way directly or indirectly connected to the M7 trading architecture — a platform for continuous power trading used by EPEX Spot — through an M7 application programming interface (API)

What is the M7 API

No alternative text provided

Automation software deployed to accommodate Intraday Continuous trading       at EPEX Spot communicates with the M7 system through an advanced message queueing protocol (AMQP) server that acts as an intermediary between a market participant and the exchange.

Interaction with the exchange is carried out by means of two message exchange patterns: request-response communication initiated by API users — that includes management requests and inquiry requests — and broadcast communication initiated by the system. These patterns allow M7 API users to access the basic functionality of the M7 system, such as:

  • Order management (i.e. order submission, modification, activation/deactivation and deletion)

  • Trade management (i.e. submission of recall requests, receiving push notifications on trade state changes)

  • Load management (i.e. monitoring of the number of orders submitted by an individual market participant within a certain period of time to prevent system overload)

  • Access to real-time and historical data (i.e. receiving push notifications on market or system updates and accessing different types of historical data products regulated by a participant’s subscription plan)

While order management, trade management and load management are only available to users with read-write permissions, a common practice is to develop a read-only client first and add writing capabilities later.

Follow the link to find the full API documentation: https://www.eex.com/en/market-data/eex-group-datasource/api      

How to Connect a Trading Application to the M7 API

No alternative text provided

Whenever a trading company gets in touch with the EPEX Spot team to connect their trading application to the M7 system via API, exchange representatives guide market participants through the entire integration process that typically consists of the following steps:

  1. Access to API documentation and test environment. Market participants receive full API documentation including the terms of reference, user credentials and a unique identifier to access the test environment.

  2. API implementation. This is the longest and most complex stage in the entire process. The trading company develops a proprietary software application that is able to achieve two-way communication with the exchange using the M7 API while adhering to all requirements mentioned in the EPEX terms of reference.

  3. Testing. To make sure the API connection works smoothly, functional testing is carried out in the M7 test environment — advanced simulation (ASIM) that is identical to the production system in terms of the format of messages.

  4. Conformance test. Before the developed client application can be connected to the M7 system, an EPEX Spot representative has to verify if the client complies with the terms of reference to prevent any interruptions in production. Usually, conformance tests cover technical and connectivity checks together with application responses to specific market events and automated flows of orders and trades.

  5. Certification and go-live. On thorough functional and conformance API connection testing, a market participant receives certification and login credentials necessary to access the M7 production system. 

At the first login to the M7 system, the client’s trading application synchronizes with the market and can re-synchronize if a problem occurs (e.g. after a given market comes out of hibernation). 

Throughout the whole API running cycle, users are free to send order management and trade management requests (if their number stays within the load thresholds) and get automatic updates broadcast by the system. Given the growing amount of data which should be continuously processed to ensure that all API requests and responses are captured correctly, it’s necessary to establish scalable and robust data processing infrastructures      .

More from the category

No alternative text provided
energy-trading
The Basics of Machine Learning Operations in Power Spot Trading

Discover how machine learning operations (MLOps) practices are applied in power spot trading to accelerate and facilitate the whole ML model lifecycle.

Sourabh Raj, Head of Data Science
10 Aug 2023
No alternative text provided
energy-trading
What’s What? Manual Trading vs. Computer-Assisted Trading vs. Automated Trading

Explore the three degrees of automation along the short-term power trading value chain — from manual approach to computer-assisted trading and end-to-end trading automation

Alexander Reinhold, CEO
28 Oct 2022
No alternative text provided
energy-trading
The Importance of Order Execution in Intraday Continuous

Thorough exploration of the peculiarities of continuous trading and the role of computer-assisted order execution strategies in Intraday power markets

Mario Nakhle, Product Management
27 Dec 2022
No alternative text provided
energy-trading
The Effect of Rising Prices and Volatility on Computer-Assisted Trading

Let’s shed light on the long-lasting effect that recent rise in power prices and volatility levels had on computer-assisted trading

Mario Nakhle, Product Management
7 Mar 2023
No alternative text provided
energy-trading
The Dynamics of Power Spot Prices: an Overview

A look into the nature of daily power prices that remain in constant flux under the influence of heterogeneous fundamental and technical drivers

Kamil Pluta, Systematic Trading
7 Dec 2022
No alternative text provided
energy-trading
Short-Term Power Trading: A Value Chain Perspective

From data processing to intelligence decision making to order execution — explore the life cycle of short-term power trades

Alexander Reinhold, CEO
19 Sept 2022
No alternative text provided
energy-trading
The Role of Transmission System Operators in Energy Trading

Let’s zoom in on the role of transmission system operators — the key market players responsible for the stable energy system operation and uninterrupted power transmission — and their effect on energy trading

Alexander Reinhold, CEO
17 Jan 2023
No alternative text provided
energy-trading
Power Trading: An Introduction

An overview of long- and short-term power trading — explore the differences between futures, over-the-counter and spot power markets and their complexities

Alexander Reinhold, CEO
15 Sept 2022
No alternative text provided
energy-trading
How to Derive Trading Decisions Systematically

A detailed look into the intricacies of creation and implementation of decision-making systems in power spot trading

Mario Nakhle, Product Management
16 Dec 2022
No alternative text provided
energy-trading
European Power Balancing Markets: an Overview

A deeper dive into the main instruments applied in balancing markets to counteract the deviations between supply and demand

Kamil Pluta, Systematic Trading
3 Feb 2023
No alternative text provided
energy-trading
Energy Mix in the Age of Renewables: An Overview

A quick refresher on the basic energy concepts and peculiarities of renewable energy sources

Alexander Reinhold, CEO
13 Sept 2022
No alternative text provided
energy-trading
A Look into Data Processing in Short-Term Power Trading

An in-depth look at the six crucial stages of data processing commonly applied across the power industry to facilitate data-driven decision making

Mario Nakhle, Product Management
15 Nov 2022
No alternative text provided
energy-trading
A Deep Dive into Cross-Border Transmission Capacities Allocation

Learn how cross-border transmission capacities — that allow to transfer power across a border — are allocated in futures and spot markets

Kamil Pluta, Systematic Trading
28 Feb 2023
No alternative text provided
energy-trading
A Day in the Life… How Short-Term Power Traders Operate

An overview of the differences between asset-backed and asset-less (proprietary) power traders and their routine workflows

Alexander Reinhold, CEO
17 Oct 2022