If it uses dilithium then it is destined to fail.
*sells dilithium stocks*
Right now in the late 24th century, we aren't seeing SF using any other power sources apart from M/A (and Dilithium as means to regulate the reaction).
However, if by any chance Prodigy DOES start introducing new warp/power cores which don't use Dilithium and M/AM (such as say Kriega Waves, Tetryon reactors, Thermionic generators, etc.) then we can probably and safely say that Disco takes place in an alternate future (which would be nice as it would leave existing far future open - Disco's 32nd century could still have most of everything that happened in the Prime timeline happen that would lead to the future it ended up with - but the actual prime timeline might end up replacing Dilithium and M/AM in around the 25th or 26th century entirely - here's hoping).
But, the Protodrive DID use a Protostar as means of power generation to achieve extremely fast speeds... problem is that you needed a secondary power source to maintain gravimetric containment.
One has to wonder if the Protostar core can in effect serve as the MAIN power source onboard a ship and replace a Warp core?
More to the point... could SF find a way for the Protocore to power its own containment or do so with power sources that don't need classical Warp cores which use Dilithium and M/AM?
they explicitly do happen per DIS season 3. they just don't replace standard warp. its like trains and aircraft.. they'll never fully replace cars, cars will remain our go-to means to transportation for a long time, because while trains and planes have their advantages in longer distance travel, they can't go just any point to any point. transwarp networks and QSD is the same. transwarp is a nodal network, you have to go to specific spots to use it. and Arturis's QSD for all its speed has been shown to have navigation limits as well.. it isn't as flexible as warp. so it is best used as a means to cross between two region quickly, with the use of regular warp to cross those last few lightyears.
you are over simplifying the tech issues, reading way too much into a few lines of dialog.
canonically it failed. while i suspect that the program did eventually lead to the better warp drives of TNG, per official information, whatever the Excelsior's experimental drive was supposed to do, it didn't pan out.
You don't have to replace Warp drive necessarily (although by the 32nd century, this method of travel would have most definitely fallen out of use centuries ago in favour of faster drives such as Slipstream)... just need to replace the method of power generation to power it and other FTL drives which removes Dilithium (and Antimatter) from the equation.
I don't agree Warp drive is like a car. Warp drive is an FTL method of travel commonly used by starships.
Starships are more like cars. TW hubs are similar to trains and airports.
If you meant replacing a starship with something else, then I may agree with you, but no.
Different FTL drives CAN use proprietary power generation methods (but its not a given they will be stuck with those), because, all you really need is sufficiently powerful reactor to provide power to any FTL drive.
SF was able to power virtually anything with M/AM power cores (and Dilithium for stabilizing the reaction) mainly because that's their only method of powering FTL.
Arturis fake Dauntless didn't use Antimatter (it was said as much in the episode).
VOY crew also encountered multiple power generator technologies that could easily surpass Dilithium and M/AM as method of powering a ship (eventually).
The Tetryon reactor as used by the Ceretaker's Array was able to generate a displacement wave 75 000 Ly's away which pulled VOY from the Badlands to the Array in a proverbial heartbeat... VOY crew had scans of the Array and managed to assist repairs of a similar Tetryon reactor in season 5 (the VOY conspiracy episode with the space catapult).
If you can repair the reactor, then it stands to reason you have the basic understanding of some of its principles of operation... meaning, SF would have had enough to start R&D on its own version by the time VOY got back, and have a prototype about 10 to 20 years later... and the first versions could probably be large ones used on starbases by say early 25th century... but beyond that point, reducing the size of the reactors would be possible to start using them on starships as means of replacing dilithium and antimatter (possibly late 25th century or early 26th century).
Miniaturization of technology (even power production) is more than possible.
By improving efficiencies for example you can greatly increase power output of say a big tetryon reactor (lets call it, upgrade version 2 which grants 50% greater efficienty) ... but if you design a smaller one with same efficiency, it might have say similar or further reduced power output of version 1 (which would still be insanely more powerful than a dilithium and M/AM warp core).
Add to that, Kriega waves power generation technology from TNG (which survived the death of the scientist), and possibly Thermionic power generators (if species 8472 allowed VOY access to study that technology during their technology exchange when a truce was established).
To have NONE of the drive technologies pan out is sheer nonsense.
Clearly those technologies worked for everyone else... and even if some of the tech presented challenges for SF initially, those challenges wouldn't persist for 100 years (let alone 800 years) after using and developing those technologies.
Disco effectively boxed everything into a corner (stupidly) by saying that method of power generation would have remained the same for 930 years (it also seemingly confused method of power generation with method of FTL travel)... I can see Dilithium and M/AM persisting perhaps for the first 200-300 odd years... but even UFP was aware Dilithium mining is not really sustainable or environmentally friendly... they would have researched and developed alternate power sources which didn't need Dilithium centuries before the Dilihtium shortages became apparrent (which was round about in the 30th or 31st century).
