The market for GHG quota traders continues to consolidate: the Bavarian company carbonify, which claims to be one of the leading providers, is taking over competitor fairnergy.org, as manager magazin has exclusively learned. It was agreed not to disclose the size of the transaction. Carbonify wants to position itself strategically more broadly and expand its brand portfolio. According to a statement from the company, they want to pay out GHG quotas – a bonus for electric car owners – to as broad a target group as possible.
GHG quota stands for greenhouse gas reduction quota. Using this climate protection instrument, the federal government has been rewarding electric car owners for the emissions they have saved since 2022 and, in return, obliges oil companies to reduce their emissions. GHG quota traders like carbonify bring both sides together. They buy their CO2 savings from electric car drivers and sell them in bulk to the oil multinationals for a commission.
Recently, however, the price of the GHG quota collapsed sharply and put some market players under pressure – some even had to file for bankruptcy. as manager magazine recently reported
. This means that even more intermediary companies are likely to disappear from the market in the future.
Carbonify with second acquisition in a short time
With over 500,000 premiums processed, Carbonify is one of the larger players in the market and had sales of around 150 million euros in the quota year 2023. The greentech start-up with locations in Munich, Frankfurt and Vienna was founded in 2021. The company has also been active with a subsidiary in Austria since 2023. The company operates its own platform for e-car owners and also offers software solutions for business customers for whom it handles quota processing.
Fairnergy is a GreenTrax brand and has had more than 30,000 customers in the past three years. “The fairnergy brand suits us perfectly,” says Tim Kimpel, co-founder of carbonify. “We will continue the existing culture and partnership with fairnergy customers and ensure that the GHG bonus offer is developed sustainably and fairly over the next few years.”
The aim of the takeover is to further expand the offering for end customers, explained co-managing director Niklas Gawehn. “The fairnergy brand places a strong focus on environmental protection and sustainability and also offers a donation option.” The brand’s unique selling point is that customers have the choice between cash payment and non-cash rewards such as a green electricity tariff or charging volume.
The previous fairnergy management around Philip Weykamp and Benedikt Kirpes wants to devote itself to new projects after the sale.
This is carbonify’s second takeover in a short period of time. Last year the company took over competitor smartificate.