25 Years in the Bioeconomy: A Journey Still Exciting, An Adventure Still Rewarding

by Wayne Lee (Lee Enterprises Consulting/Biofuels Digest) Editor’s note to readers: Lee Enterprises Consulting celebrates its 25th anniversary on October 4th — having grown from a boutique biodiesel consulting firm to the world’s largest bioeconomy consulting collective. Today, the bioeconomy is a worldwide business encompassing fuels, advanced agriculture, renewable chemicals, vegan foods, nutraceuticals, cannabis, and lots more. The projects are bigger, and the stakes are higher. Accordingly, the Lee cavalcade encompasses some 150 experts around the world. But it wasn’t always so. Here, company founder and current CEO, Wayne Lee, looks back on the roads travelled and the road ahead.

... Yet as I envisioned a future world, darker and more dangerous world than the one my generation had inherited, I wondered what I would tell my children. Would I tell them that my generation was the cause of the problems and offered no solutions? I asked myself why we couldn’t at least try to make things better. After all, if not me, then who?

In 1995, my exposure to this world of renewable energy was limited to a scant knowledge of a single product – biodiesel – a diesel replacement made from soybean oil in a relatively simple process.

I knew that during my lifetime, there might be lots of available crude oil, the cost would have to get continually higher as it became harder to find – not to mention the real costs in polluting and lives lost in fighting oil wars.

With those thoughts in mind, I had a vision of doing my small part in making the world a better place. Thus, I set forth on my journey to learn all I could about biodiesel from friends and relatives. My goal was to become the best “biodiesel consultant” I could become, as at the beginning, it was all about biodiesel and its big brother “ethanol”. Back then, I knew nothing of things like gasification, pyrolysis, or thermochemical conversion.

In the beginning, business was scant, and it was only with the help of a supportive spouse who encouraged me to “follow my dream”, that I was able to survive. But after the first few years, it became crystal clear that I needed to either be fully committed or get out. I chose the former. By this time, my vision of a sustainable world had started to grow beyond renewable fuels. I embraced the belief that the Earth had plenty of natural resources, and a “circular economy” with abundance for everyone was not just possible, but a global imperative. I began studying how the plastics in the oceans were killing marine life, and how we were paying vast sums to pile up our garbage outside of towns.

By 2005, I was getting contacted about many projects that went well beyond my capabilities, so I developed a goal and a path to reach it. To reach my vision, I knew that Lee Enterprises Consulting needed to become a “one stop shop” where investors, developers, and others, could find the expertise for all types of bioeconomy projects. My path was clear. I would seek out the top experts on any requested bioeconomy subjects and engage them. If we got a second and third request on the subject, this would be a sign that it was an important area, and I would formally add this expertise to our team.

We now have many experts worldwide, all of whom were screened and chosen by me personally. These men and women represent the top talent worldwide, ....

These are the folks that have “been in the trenches” in the bioeconomy many years. My role has transformed into being the “general practitioner in this house of specialists.” I am blessed to have access to an unmatched knowledge base as well as the daily assistance of the eleven professionals who serve on our executive team and lead projects.

... if they ask questions about pollution, climate change and the things that seem to matter much more to young people now, one thing is certain. I have an answer. I can tell them that the work of one will never be enough, but with the passion of one will come the work of many. I can tell them that they are not alone in this journey for a cleaner world. I never was alone, as you were always out there. Now, with so many of us are working together, there is nothing that will stop us. I can honestly tell them that I did what I could, and it is theirs to carry forward. I will remind them, “if not me, then who?”