Necessity is truly the mother of invention.  Energy drives mankind and fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal, will only provide us with about 100 years of energy.  Fusion is the answer, but replicating the energy generation of the sun or a star is never going to be practical.  Hot Fusion research is expensive and as seen in the video below, most researchers are tremendously close-minded and arrogant when it comes to other sources of fusion.
Cold Fusion is not nonsense; it is simply misunderstand because it requires an open-mind and a multi-disciplined background.  The Fleischmann Pons reaction has been replicated thousands of times and several companies are working towards the manufacturing of commercial models.  The goal is the same, harnessing the power of fusion, but until the academic world wakes up and realizes billions have been misspent to fulfill the fantasy of re-creating the sun, LENR and Cold Fusion will live in the shadow of false hope.