Old-style science was not as expensive as new style science. If a team does something for commercial gain then it becomes publically accessible 20 years later when the patents expire. Probably sooner if people ignore the patents or find a way round them. The worst case scenario is that they sit on their invention and do nothing about it. The best case is that they create a new viable industry. Either way, eventually the technology will become available to everyone for free. If there was little incentive to develop these ideas then fewer people would bother and this tech may only have been invented in 100 years time.