[en] Industrial innovation frequently results from an improved understanding of basic physics. Scientific discoveries quite often lead to engineering inventions that have not been the target of the original investigations. Examples are given from the field of plasma physics and plasma technology. High voltage circuit breakers, ozone generators, high power CO₂ lasers, excimer lamps, and plasma display panels have profited substantially from initially purely scientific investigations. In the meantime they have reached multi-billion dollar market shares