> The challenges of fusion power are largely fundamental nitty gritty engineering issues.
I'm not saying they've done it and extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof but this is the place that made a Mach 3.5 jet with wings that leaked out of titanium in the 60's.
Nitty-gritty engineering is something they are fairly good at.
Indeed, believe me I hope I'm wrong and that fusion power really is around the corner. It's just that, according to the article, they aren't even at the prototype phase yet. That's where the real problems for fusion reactors arise. I'm sure that they've done something interesting, but my (semi-expert, I'm a nuclear engineering PhD, but not in fusion technology) opinion, this doesn't look like The Big Discovery.
I'm not saying they've done it and extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof but this is the place that made a Mach 3.5 jet with wings that leaked out of titanium in the 60's.
Nitty-gritty engineering is something they are fairly good at.