Towards a classification scheme for co-simulation approaches in energy systems

Simulations become more and more crucial in the field of future energy systems. This is caused by the increasing complexity of energy systems that consist of a variety of subsystems such as supply infrastructures, production, consumption, markets, communication, meteorology etc. Co-simulation tools provide the possibility to combine models of these subsystems and run them in a coordinated simulation. However, such simulations become more and more complex, making it improbable that the user of a simulation is the same person that develops the simulation system. To facilitate the communication between users and developers of co-simulation tools and to help the user to find the suitable software for his purpose, the authors suggest a typification of co-simulation tools. This is done by identifying the most relevant attributes each specified by a set of possible configurations. The utilization of the developed schemed is demonstrated by applying it to the mosaik co-simulation framework.