I'd bet that if you were to ask a group of the scientists who are currently working on fusion technology what activity consumes most of their time and effort, t

I'd bet that if you were to ask a group of the scientists who are currently working on fusion technology what activity consumes most of their time and effort, the #1 answer would be "pursuing grant money". Ask an academic in any field that question and that is the answer you'll usually get. Eliminate that problem by getting all of those brains together in a well-funded lab and I think you'd be surprised at how much more productive they could be.