[drjesusphd]

> Scientists are learning much from all this tinkering, but experts say these big projects—if they work—are at best decades away from commercialization.

I don't understand what the rush is. Are we really that shortsighted that we can't wait a few decades or even centuries for the ultimate energy cure-all? We continue to enthusiastically support a space program, even though we know the practical payoff is a long way away. Why can't we have the same attitude about fusion? Traditional nuclear and associated advanced concepts can carry us in the medium term, albeit with some proliferation risk.

It's a shame that the smaller projects got cut from government funding, and I'm glad venture capitalists are stepping in and contributing. But it seems that they are outright dismissing of mainstream academic scientists, and believe that nothing useful can be learned from the scientific community. This seems hubristic, and will just lead to wasted resources and good will.

Plasma physicists have tried many things over the decades and have gotten good at pointing out failure modes. There is no good reason why there can't be more collaboration between academia and industry in this space.

If it's secret, it's not science.