I was glad to learn of the initiative started by the attendees of the ICCF-17 conference regarding the replication of a cold fusion cell that will show once and for all to the world that we are dealing with a new reality in terms of energy production.
The lament of many of us over the last months and years is why so few people are paying attention to this phenomenon when it seems to many people who have looked into CF/LENR that there is clearly something very important going on that can be of benefit to the whole world.
My conclusion is that most people are not interested in science experiments — even if you can show something very interesting and “impossible”, the majority of people won’t pay much attention until you can show them how it can benefit them. People get excited about the latest electronic gadgets, even if they are not particularly revolutionary (compared to an earlier model) because they can buy them, use them, show them to friends and family, post them working on Youtube, etc.
My guess is that most people who hear about LENR may give it a passing look, but when they learn that at this point it’s mostly experimental and lab-based activity, they move on. I don’t find this particularly surprising. I have looked at many interesting science stories over the years and had exactly the same response — interesting, but nothing is going to happen in the real world for years” — so I move on, and in most cases after a time I forget what the story was in the first place.
So coming back to convincing the world that there is something important going on in the LENR field, I think that an obviously convincing demo is very important, and a necessary first step. There are people who will pay close attention to a convincing prototype demonstration, and that can spur interest, investment and product development. But For there to be a widespread acceptance of LENR, having products on the market is going to be essential. I think that as with any technology, early LENR products will be expensive and primitive, but with continued R&D, and economies of scale, over time that will change.
The first steps in any kind of technological revolution are always the most difficult — but the most important. Once working products are on the market I believe the momentum will start building, and will be difficult to stop.