Why Helion and not toroidal devices?

Maybe we should leave the experimental results tell if fusion will work or not. The ITER project will research many of your points. And in general, things don't work untill we try to make them work ;)

Totally agree. We lack materials, fuel (for tritium based concepts), a high enough gain factor and... A pilot plant with a competitive price 😅

Given that with the exploitation of fossil fuels, the industry/economy shifted from slave-based to engine-based, I can't even imagine how the future will look like! But... The NIF result is encouraging but not conclusive ;)