Reducing Emissions but Still Using Diesel
In this brief interview, I'm catching up with an old friend, Kensey Green (pictured below), whose vocation shifted from finance to green energy development. And yes, the title of this blog post is a play on his name and interests. I first met Kensey, whose career has been forward looking and future value building, when I was developing a business plan for a common client who wanted to convert wood waste along the Lake Michigan coastline to a combination of wood pellets and alternative fuel. When gasoline was running at $5 per gallon US, it was a viable business plan with no need for government welfare to prop it up. The recession of 2008-2009 scuttled these plans and we went our separate ways. We recently reconnected and had occasion to put this brief interview together.
Somewhere in your career a switch turned on that led you to care deeply about green energy and renewables. Would you tell us that story?
In 2007, when I left Nomura and City, I was not really sure of what I wanted to do but my first venture was into property development, and from a Green point of view. The development intended to incorporate non-fossil fuel as a means of power, using wood pellet, wind, and solar for a district heating system.
You've had some highlights and lowlights across the years. Can you give us at least one of each? What has kept you going all this time? And, how hopeful are you at this moment in time?
Securing a £1m grant from the Welsh Forestry Commission to build a wood pellet plant in 
Mid-Wales against seven other projects was a personal high point on a project developed from scratch. This was followed eighteen months later when Green Investment Bank, set up specifically for projects like ours, pulled the funding line due to an internal conflict at the Director level within our own team. GIB could see these problems leading to delays and pulled the funding.
Mid-Wales against seven other projects was a personal high point on a project developed from scratch. This was followed eighteen months later when Green Investment Bank, set up specifically for projects like ours, pulled the funding line due to an internal conflict at the Director level within our own team. GIB could see these problems leading to delays and pulled the funding. That wood pellet plant project proved to me that I had the capabilities to build a business from scratch, however, and I had actually done most of the real grunt work myself. Self-belief has kept me going and the desire to look after my family. I am very positive at the present time that the Cibus21 technology will lower emissions by burning diesel more efficiently.
You've been working with a new enterprise of late. What is it and how does it work?
I started working on the Diffusion Technologies Ltd project because I saw a technology that solved two issues at one time. It is economic and it lowers emissions while using Diesel. The technology is called Cibus21 and basically introduces a small amount of gas into a diesel engine. This means more of the actual diesel is burnt in the engine, lowering emissions. It is a retrofit and non-intrusive technology with new patents pending.
You've been stewarding this project through startup and a Founder's death due to COVID. How is the business faring now and what is next?
Firstly, we needed to be sure we could develop the technology further without the Founder. Once that was established, we needed to re-structure the business. Now, as a new company with clear goals, we addressed the weaknesses in the technology with the help of well-respected consultants. We are in the process of confirming a new line of funding to complete the testing of an already proven system, and already have orders. If the Cibus21 systems only works half as well as we expect, it will be a game changer.
What advice do you have for the young business owner, or perhaps the newly minted MBA, who wants their career to make a difference when it comes to Green energy?
Green energy is a huge subject which is absorbing large amounts of capital. Electric Transport and Hydrogen fuel are the buzz words now. To be successful you need to find a niche where you add value fairly quickly, but "LOWER EMISSIONS" which is now key. If you cannot properly commercialise your new technology, then move on and don't waste time and money. The other key is you need partners. Very few businesses succeed on their own. You are almost certainly part of a chain from suppliers to users. Ask yourself "what if?"
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Are you a forward-thinking, future-value oriented leader? Will what you are accomplishing eventually land in the guiding hands of others? Kristin Evenson is currently gathering the next cohort of Maestro-level leaders and would love to talk with you.
I walk alongside leaders, listening to understand their challenges, and helping them lead healthy organizations that flourish.
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