What Swift Fuels does

Swift Fuels is a West Lafayette, Indiana-based private fuels development company that designs proprietary catalytic process technologies and produces high-value fuel products. The company's core technology portfolio consists of three process technologies — LG2F (Light Gas to Fuels), I2FE (Increase to Fuel Economy), and R2C9 (Reforming to C9+ Aromatics) — developed in collaboration with Purdue University Chemical Engineering. These processes convert low-value feedstocks (NGLs from natural gas streams, light industrial gases from refineries, and reformate) into high-performance fuels and blendstocks with elevated octane and energy density.

The commercial product portfolio spans aviation gasolines (Swift 100R, a 100-MON unleaded replacement for 100LL leaded avgas that received ASTM International Production Specification approval in September 2025; and Swift UL94 for lower-compression engines), consumer and small-engine fuels (Sure-Starter ethanol-free gasoline for 4-stroke and 2-stroke engines), specialty diesel (Swift C50, in R&D), and mesitylene (1,3,5-trimethylbenzene) sold for jet and diesel fuel blending, including supply to the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory's FAA CLEEN-II program.

Swift Fuels monetizes through a multi-pronged business model: (i) licensing the LG2F, I2FE, and R2C9 process technologies to oil and gas, midstream, refining, and petrochemical counterparties; (ii) turnkey project delivery including EPC oversight, commissioning, and startup services through an industry partner network; (iii) direct B2B sales of branded fuel products to aviation customers (FBOs) and consumer markets via e-commerce; (iv) a franchise and co-investment model that aligns private investor working capital with project deployment; and (v) $100 FOREVER Avgas Supplemental Type Certificate sales to aircraft owners supporting the 100LL transition. Primary customer segments include oil, gas, midstream, refinery and petrochemical operators, the global piston aviation fleet, and specialty fuels and petrochemical formulators.

Name

Swift Fuels

Legal name

Swift Fuels

Website

https://swiftfuels.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Swift Fuels is a West Lafayette, Indiana-based fuels technology company that develops proprietary catalytic processes (LG2F, I2FE, R2C9) to convert low-value NGLs and refinery reformate into high-performance aviation, consumer, and specialty fuels. It serves oil and gas, midstream, refining, aviation, and petrochemical markets through licensing, turnkey project delivery, and direct fuel sales.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Fuels and Fuel Processing Technology

NAICS

Petroleum Refineries (32411), Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing (3241)

SIC

Petroleum Refining (2911), Industrial Organic Chemicals (2860)

akta.pro primary industry

Reforming, Isomerization & Alkylation (Octane & Gasoline Upgrading) (EUALAGAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Refinery Blending & Product Quality Control (Gasoline/Diesel/Jet Blending, Additives) (EUALAGAJ), Gas Processing & NGL Recovery (Dehydration, Sweetening, Cryogenic Recovery) (EUALAGAG)

Keywords

• Aviation fuel production
• Fuel processing technology
• Unleaded avgas
• Hydrocarbon conversion
• Specialty fuel blendstocks

Headquarters

HQ city

West Lafayette

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Operations, Personnel, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Technology Licensing: Licensing proprietary intellectual property specialized in converting low-valued hydrocarbons to high-valued fuels. Clients pay licensing fees for access to LG2F, I2FE, and R2C9 process technologies.
2. Turnkey Project Delivery: Delivering complete processing solutions including infrastructure deployment, EPC project construction oversight, commissioning, and startup services through network of industry partners.
3. Branded Fuel Products: Production and sale of branded fuel products including Swift 100R (aviation), Swift UL94, Sure-Starter (ethanol-free gasoline for 4-stroke and 2-stroke engines), and Swift Jet aromatics.
4. Franchise / Co-Investment: Bringing working-capital portfolio of private investors to back projects and align incentives. Company co-invests in projects alongside private investors.
5. FAA STC Sales: Selling $100 FOREVER Avgas STC (Supplemental Type Certificate) for aircraft owners to financially support the company's efforts in replacing leaded avgas.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Swift Fuels develops, produces, and licenses high-performance fuels and fuel blendstocks built on three proprietary process technologies — LG2F, I2FE, and R2C9 — that convert low-valued hydrocarbons (NGLs, refinery reformate) into higher-octane fuels and specialty aromatics. The company sells branded fuel products including unleaded aviation gasolines (Swift 100R, Swift UL94), ethanol-free small-engine gasoline (Sure-Starter), jet fuel aromatics (Swift Jet Mesitylene), and ultra-low-sulfur diesel (Swift C50), and licenses its process IP for turnkey deployment at client sites.

Product overview

Swift Fuels is a fuels development company that produces high-value fuels, fuel blendstocks, and proprietary processing technologies. The company offers a portfolio of branded fuel products including aviation gasolines (Swift 100R, Swift UL94), automotive/small engine fuels (Sure-Starter), jet fuel components (Swift Jet Aromatics), and diesel fuels (Swift C50). These products are produced through three proprietary process technologies: LG2F (Light Gas to Fuels Processing), I2FE (Increase to Fuel Economy), and R2C9 (Reforming to C9+ Aromatics). The company licenses its intellectual property and provides turnkey project services for deploying fuel processing solutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Swift 100R: 100-Motor-Octane aviation gasoline designed to fully replace 100LL Leaded Avgas across the entire global piston fleet
• Swift UL94
• Sure-Starter
• Swift Jet - Aromatics
• Swift C50

Products and services

• Swift 100R Unleaded Avgas A 100-Motor-Octane (100 MON) unleaded aviation gasoline designed to fully replace 100LL leaded avgas across the entire global piston aircraft fleet; received ASTM International Production Specification approval in September 2025. Sold to general aviation piston operators and FBOs.
• Swift UL94 Unleaded Avgas A 98-Octane (R+M)/2 (94+ MON) unleaded aviation gasoline used in piston aviation as a leaded-avgas replacement for lower-compression, lower-octane-demand engines. Sold to general aviation operators and FBOs.
• Sure-Starter Ethanol-Free Gasoline A 94-Octane (R+M)/2 ethanol-free gasoline sold in two formulations: one for 4-stroke engines (chain saws, generators, lawn equipment, snowmobiles, classic cars, marine motors) and one with pre-mixed premium synthetic lubricant for 2-stroke engines (compatible with 25:1, 40:1, 50:1, and 100:1 ratios). Sold directly to consumers via e-commerce.
• Swift Jet Mesitylene (1,3,5-trimethylbenzene) 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene (Mesitylene) sold for use in proprietary blends of jet fuel and diesel fuel; qualifies as a high-performance aromatic used by the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory in the FAA CLEEN-II Program. Sold to defense and aerospace fuel R&D programs.
• Swift C50 Ultra-Low-Sulfur Diesel A 50+ cetane ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuel currently in the R&D phase, designed as a high-cetane diesel product for future commercial sale.
• LG2F (Light Gas to Fuels) Process Technology — License Proprietary process technology, licensed to enterprise clients, that converts low-cost NGLs (ethane, propane, butane, pentane+) from natural gas streams and light industrial gases from refineries (~4% of refining output) into high-performance fuels. Delivered via technology license plus turnkey project support.
• I2FE (Increase to Fuel Economy) Process Technology — License Proprietary process technology, licensed to refining clients, that converts intermediate refinery reformate into a higher-octane feedstream useful for blending premium gasoline, increasing octane value, energy density, and mpg rating.
• R2C9 (Reforming to C9+ Aromatics) Process Technology — License Proprietary process technology, licensed to enterprise clients, that converts reformate into high-octane C9 aromatics for specialty fuels and base petrochemicals, with high-value methyl-aromatic byproducts.
• Turnkey Fuel-Processing Project Delivery Professional services offering covering front-end engineering design, infrastructure deployment, EPC construction oversight, commissioning, and startup for LG2F, I2FE, and R2C9 processing units, delivered through a network of industry partners. Sold to oil & gas, midstream, and refining enterprise clients.

Quantifiable outcome

• 100-octane unleaded avgas certified by ASTM International for entire piston aircraft fleet
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Diamond Infrastructure SolutionscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Exclusivity agreement signed for Swift Fuels to investigate development and operation of a demonstration-scale LG2F (Light Gas to Fuels) processing unit in Louisiana. Diamond Infrastructure Solutions provides infrastructure development expertise for the project.
• Purdue University / Purdue Research FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative development agreement with Purdue University Chemical Engineering team of catalysis experts. Research partnership to commercialize fuel-related technologies. Sangtae Kim, PhD (Jay and Cynthia Ihlenfeld Head of Chemical Engineering at Purdue) serves as advisor. Also referenced in CISTAR collaboration.
• CISTARsupportingTechnology or IntegrationCISTAR (Center for Innovative and Strategic Transformation of Alkane Resources) is listed as a key technical collaboration, focused on transformation of alkane resources.
• AFRL (Air Force Research Laboratory)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerSwift Jet Mesitylene and High-Performance Aromatics are used by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) in the FAA CLEEN-II Program for advanced jet fuel development.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Axens: Axens licenses refinery and petrochemical process technologies (reforming, aromatics, hydroprocessing) — directly analogous commercial model to Swift Fuels' licensing-plus-turnkey delivery approach for LG2F, I2FE, and R2C9. Axens serves the same refinery customer base.
• TotalEnergies Aviation: TotalEnergies operates Total Avgas 100LL distribution and has launched its own unleaded avgas alternative. As a major integrated oil company with global FBO relationships, it is the most directly comparable incumbent evaluating the same unleaded-avgas regulatory opportunity.
• Shell Aviation (AeroShell): Shell Aviation, through the AeroShell brand, is the dominant incumbent producer of 100LL leaded avgas that Swift 100R seeks to displace. Shell is also pursuing unleaded aviation alternatives and SAF, making it both an incumbent competitor and a potential licensing/acquisition partner for Swift Fuels' IP.
• BP / AeroShell Joint Venture: BP jointly owns the AeroShell aviation fuels business with Shell, giving it co-incumbent position in the 100LL market Swift 100R targets. BP's energy transition programs also evaluate sustainable and unleaded aviation fuels, making it a strategic peer in the same regulatory arena.
• Honeywell UOP: Honeywell UOP is the dominant licensor of refining process technologies (FCC, hydrocracking, reforming, alkylation) — the same category of IP that Swift Fuels licenses via LG2F, I2FE, and R2C9. UOP represents the scaled incumbent Swift Fuels competes against for refinery licensee relationships.

Others

• Avfuel Corporation: Avfuel is a major general-aviation fuel distributor and supply-chain partner to FBOs across North America. As the largest specialty aviation-fuel distributor, Avfuel's existing FBO network is the primary go-to-market channel for unleaded avgas products like Swift 100R.

Emerging players

• Gevo: Gevo develops sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable hydrocarbons using proprietary catalytic processes — comparable technology-to-market pathway and aviation focus to Swift Fuels. Both companies commercialize proprietary fuel-chemistry technology into aviation and specialty-fuel niches.
• Velocys: Velocys develops Fischer-Tropsch microchannel reactors that convert natural gas, biomass, and waste streams into synthetic fuels — technologically adjacent to Swift Fuels' LG2F and R2C9 process technologies. Both target specialty fuels and SAF from low-value feedstocks.
• LanzaTech: LanzaTech's gas-fermentation and carbon-to-fuels platform converts low-value gas streams (analogous to Swift's LG2F NGL-to-fuels approach) into fuels and chemicals. Both pursue proprietary process technology licensing across energy and aviation end markets.

Direct peers

• General Aviation Modifications Inc. (GAMI): GAMI manufactures G100UL, the most prominent competing unleaded avgas replacement for 100LL. Both companies target the same global piston aircraft fleet with a drop-in 100-octane unleaded gasoline, making them the closest direct competitors in the regulatory and FAA certification race.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/swiftfuels

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Swift Fuels