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Due to the demands of the market to increase efficiency and power density of large MW size gas engines, existing ignition schemes are gradually reaching their limits. These limitations initially triggered the development of laser ignition as an effective alternative, first only for gas engines and now for a much wider range of internal combustion engines revealing a number of immediate advantages like no electrode erosion or flame kernel quenching. Within this broad range investigation, laser plasmas were generated by ns Nd-YAG laser pulses and characterized by emission and Schlieren diagnostic methods. High-pressure chamber experiments with lean hydrogen- air mixtures were successfully performed and allowed the determination of essential parameters like minimum pulse energies at different ignition pressures and temperatures as well as at variable fuel air compositions. In this way, relevant parameters were acquired allowing estimation/ development of future laser ignition systems.