After a nearly 45-year career in tech and infrastructure and trying his hand in wind and other renewable energy technologies, Dave Smoot pivoted to sustainable aviation fuels in the 2010s.

His timing could not have been better.

Sustainability was the hot concept across the corporate world as consumers became increasingly aware of climate change.

Aviation insiders worried that headlines about the public’s concerns about the climate impacts of flying — which contributes to about 2.5 percent of global greenhouse gas emission each year — would soon hurt airlines’ profits.

The industry looked to sustainable aviation fuel, a type of jet fuel made from organic materials such as greases, food scraps and yard waste.

In Smoot’s case, the fuel would be made from the wood byproducts of the timber

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