If it was just CCTC I would probably not be involved here. Kiewit is what makes me think it is going to happen. I have a feeling they are running this train and CCTC is being drug along because of their patents. It follows that Kiewit is going with them overseas, they are folks with real skin in the game.
flip3: your "they don't seem able to get their minds around just how big of a project this is": remember, though they are not name-droppers, they dropped one: George Longo, managing director at Piper Jaffray. He is an old pro and will take care of your 'main concern'--when, and if.
You are absolutely right, flip. Your pilot plant timeline is close enough, too. That whole fiasco painted an unpretty picture of Eves, for sure. And not only was his timeline laughably off, with multiple missed deadlines along the way, the final cost was also nearly four times what shareholders were originally told it would be.