It's a pitched idea they are researching. If it is even close to what ends up being provable, and subsequently doable, then they also have some patented ideas o

It's a pitched idea they are researching. If it is even close to what ends up being provable, and subsequently doable, then they also have some patented ideas of how to use what they've been researching. Even if they are a ways off the mark, they can prove prior art with the patent. And of course with each new discovery, they'll file a new patent until they have something that works. So, yes. The patent protects their research, as is the purpose of obtaining a patent.