4) - Heating and current generation  (p  1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 )

d) the future: reaching for the stars with the CIMES project...

In pursuit of the long pulse, programme, in 2000 Tore Supra started an extension to its power injection system with the CIMES project( "Components for Injection of Matter and Stable Energy") after upgrading its power extraction system with the CIEL project ( "Components Internal and Limiter"). The CIMES project, divided up into several phases, will ultimately attain, towards the year 2010, nearly 20 MW dof power coupled to the plasma in continuous operation (compared with tens of MW over 30 secs possible today with the heating systems, but limited to 10 secs by the capacities of heat extraction from plasma facing components in the machine before the CIEL project). The project includes, in addition, an improvement on the system of matter supply with a new injector of deuterium pellets.

Beyond the current record of 280 MJ of energy injected into the plasma held by Tore Supra (by coupling 2.3 MW of hybrid heating in addition to ohmic heating for 120 secs), we are proposing to reach the stage of 1 GJ at the beginning of the century, then ultimately twenty or so GJ, thus approaching the 200 GJ forecast for the machine of the next step in ITER.

Tore Supra offers here a unique opportunity to test out all components of different heating systems (generators, transmission lines, antennae) on long pulses, helping to guide our choice for the machines of the next generation.