Aviation had its doubters until it was undeniable that planes could fly
....lets fix that...
Practical Aviation had its doubters until it was undeniable that planes could fly reliably and efficiently ......... oh, so much better
They weren’t the first in flight, just the first to show sustained powered flight.
Got your point though, .... good luck with that
If he demonstrates proof-of-concept, then the next step would be to convert some existing coal-fired plant scheduled to be shut down because it can't meet EPA demands. Rossi would be offered a deal: help convert the plant to his device, and he gets some amount of money for every megawatt-hour generated (if it doesn't work, he gets nothing). See if he takes the offer.