In the realm of non-profit research, it is entirely collaborative. Even if what someone is researching doesn't seem like it would make a difference, what they discovered could be the holy grail for another researcher team. You see this time and time again throughout our scientific history.

Eh, I would not go as far as to say it's mostly a tool for PhD students as BettingSlip mentioned (although I'm sure he didn't mean it in a negative way). The theoretical research being published is used to progress science and the specific field, it's not like this work ends up as fluff for a PhD thesis.

Simulations we have done have provided interesting insights in disordered proteins, protein-protein associations and more which can be used by the industry as BettingSlip mentioned.

Currently we are also trying to get more into drug design in our lab so you might see interesting more direct applications in the next few years.

But yes, the connection between theoretical and direct application is often hard to see or appreciate, which is what leads to lack of funding for basic research which is arguably inefficient in the long term.