Swift Enterprises' unleaded, sustainable fuel highlighted during Green Week 2011 at Purdue

Officials from Swift Enterprises Ltd. displayed their unmodified Cessna 150 airplane and high-octane, unleaded, renewable fuel for the public during the Alternative Transportation Expo on Wednesday (Sept. 28) at the Purdue University campus. The display was at Purdue Mall near the Engineering Fountain from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Swift Enterprises photo)

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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - An airplane powered by high-octane, unleaded, sustainable fuel produced by a Purdue Research Park-based company was on public display for the first time on Wednesday (Sept. 28) at Purdue University.

Officials from Swift Enterprises Ltd. transported their unmodified Cessna 150 from a hangar at the Purdue University Airport to the Alternative Transportation Expo at Purdue Mall near the Engineering Fountain. The expo was part of Purdue's five-day Green Week 2011.

The public was invited to tour the aircraft from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., see and smell samples of SwiftFuel, ask Swift Enterprises officials about the fuel, and watch video of the first flight using SwiftFuel, taken at Delphi Municipal Airport. Swift Enterprises also displayed a THINK City electric vehicle powered by a Swift fuel cell and an unmodified Smart ForTwo powered by SwiftFuel.

Jon Ziulkowski, vice president of renewable fuels at Swift Enterprises, said the Alternative Transportation Expo marked the first time the company's plane and fuel was on display at Purdue.

"My colleagues and I are grateful that Michael Gulich, Purdue University's director of sustainability, offered us this opportunity to join other groups that are positively impacting the transportation sector with green technology," said Ziulkowski, who recently earned his master's degree from Purdue in aviation technology. "We want the Greater Lafayette area to understand that sustainable fuels can power vehicles that have high-performance requirements. We hope displaying our plane and fuel during Purdue's Green Week 2011 will encourage people to think more about sustainable fuels and alternative transportation."

SwiftFuel and other aircraft already have been displayed at the 2011 AERO Friedrichshafen in Friedrichshafen, Germany; the National Business Aviation Association's 2010 convention in Atlanta; three EAA AirVenture conventions in Oshkosh, Wis.; Sun n' Fun 2010 in Lakeland, Fla.; and the 2010 Sporty's Fly-In in Batavia, Ohio.

Other vehicles displayed at the Alternative Transportation Expo included an electric delivery truck manufactured in Indiana, a hybrid delivery truck, a hybrid passenger bus, and vehicles from Purdue Solar Racing and Purdue's Electric Vehicle Grand Prix.

Established in 2001, Swift Enterprises works with novel chemicals as new components in energy conversion devices. Swift brings a combination of military, academic and private enterprise experience to the practical research and development of propulsion, ordnance and power technologies. In the mid-1980s, the company's founders worked at Edwards Air Force Base in California, where they conducted research on rockets and rocket fuel for the government. Swift Enterprises has completed research for Lockheed-Martin Astronautics, DARPA, the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Navy.

The Purdue Research Park has the largest university-affiliated business incubation complex in the country in four locations across Indiana. The parks are home to about 200 companies that employ 4,000 people and are located in West Lafayette, Indianapolis, Merrillville and New Albany.