After a bit more idle browsing it seems one use of the p+Ni-58 reaction is the production of Ni-56 (for academic study into astrophysical processes) as the reaction when firing a 50MeV proton beam at a nickel target does not produce Cu-59 instead it is

p + Ni-58 -> Ni-56 + 2p

note the energy needed is 50MeV, this emphasizes the huge Coulomb barrier a heavy ion like nickel has, and why fusion at a few hundred degrees is VERY unlikely. This is the sort of reaction that normally only happens in supernovas

(source http://prl.aps.org/abstract/PRL/v80/i4/p676_1)