To improve the thermal efficiency of internal combustion engines, the achievement of volumetric ignition by discharge plasmas is one of the key issue. A very long gap discharge provides the ideal discharge ignition with small heat loss to electrodes, high energy coupling efficiency from power supply to discharge plasma, and suppression of re-strike discharge in flow environment. It is, however, difficult to realize the long discharge because the applicable voltage is practically restricted by the dielectric and/or surface breakdown of insulating material. New ignition method was proposed based on the possibility to reduce the discharge threshold voltage by supplying an initial charge between the electrodes with a laser. This paper outlines the new technology named Laser Breakdown Assisted Long-Discharge Ignition (LBALDI) used for ignition by forming a long-distance discharge assisted by laser breakdown plasma, expanding the lean and rich ignition limits, suppressing re-strike discharge in flow environment, and improved ignition performance under high pressure environment.