Why do breakthroughs in science and research that have enormous (and obvious) potential often not (or barely) go beyond the lab?
They are just flashy press releases.  They're really not as cheap (including both capex and opex), easy, high yield, resistant to catalyst impurities, or scale-up able as written.

I've been seeing these flashy press releases on thin film fuel cells and the like (methanol production, energy production, F-T synthesis, biodiesel, switchgrass etc.) since at least the 90s.  The current press releases look amazingly similar to the same press releases from back then, with little evident improvement in the field.  Or realization of (or shame for) the past press releases that went nowhere.  Just a new assistant professor and another press hungry R1 school putting out more sizzle, sans steak.

And don't get me started on "nano".  That was already max hype in the 90s and has basically gone nowhere commercially (i.e. outside the realm of ivory tower careers).  And it still seems like a hot area for NSF funding and the like.  And it's a field that really attracts the ego scientists and self-promoters.