Cold fusion is a different and entirely mythical idea.
And step was the first successful positive output from a fusion (hot they run a 1pp to 150million c).
The money went on the design stage of a full size reactor. As expected and exactly as the original plan in 2022 indicated. And as the article admits. They just seem to think designing the first ever of a tech should be cheep. Rather then requiring loads of uniquely skilled and well paid researchers.
The register is missing important understanding. Early 1950 small scale fission reactors also had negative true input to output. They only produced a true positive result at full scale. But the maths proved that scale.
The maths of the NIF STEP reactore are the same.
There is a reason SMR fission reactors are only now starting to be built. Profitable ones were impossible until the 90.