And yet history has usually proven them right to have this kind of attitude. The first instance of everything is ludicrously expensive and commercially non-viab

And yet history has usually proven them right to have this kind of attitude. The first instance of everything is ludicrously expensive and commercially non-viable as it is. Then it gets cheaper and easier and eventually commonplace and boring. It's often the case that the commercial applications for a technology are not apparent to the researchers doing the research. They're focusing on the science/engineering challenges. Later, sometimes much later, it becomes part of an economically-viable product or service.