That's how research works. The first fission experiments couldn't power half a small country either.

When you listen to the guys from this original article then you'd know that for 10-20bn USD you could likely build a real power plant with this tech within 5 years. It's obviously not without risk, which is why nobody is doing it. But the technical feasibility is there.

They also point out that once the first-of-a-kind installation exists, subsequent models will be way cheaper and way better since you'd have learned a lot and streamlined the process.

But we choose to use public money for fossil subsidies instead, cause jobs, or something.