a real life incident of this that went the other way was the AC/DC standard battle DC/Edison was completely connected politically but ultimately their technology was unable to compete on account of being inferior. and so they went with AC instead rearden metal alloy would have been the same. on the other hand something more complex like the Tucker automobile.
I like the green screen that lets you know it's all sci fi even though it looks like circa 2012 with twenties clothing.
future twenties