Columbus, Ohio, and Stamford, Conn., Oct. 18, 2000 -- American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP) and Fuel-Tech N.V. (NASDAQ: FTEK) today announced that they have executed an agreement for the use of Fuel Tech’s Selective Non-Catalytic Reduction (SNCR) technology on AEP coal-fired power plants. SNCR technology can reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from coal-fired boilers. These NOx reductions are necessary in order to meet deadlines established by new environmental regulations.

The mutually beneficial agreement gives AEP guaranteed priority status for Fuel Tech’s services on AEP’s generating fleet during an expected period of unprecedented demand for the technology. Fuel Tech would be the sole-source SNCR provider to AEP. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Fuel Tech to date has installed more than 30 of its nitrogen oxide reduction processes on utility boilers in the U.S. and abroad.

"This agreement provides AEP with needed flexibility as we continue to refine our overall NOx compliance strategy," said Martin L. Mearhoff, AEP´s vice president of advanced technology and renewable energy. "AEP and Fuel Tech led the industry in demonstrating Fuel Tech’s NOxOUT® Process last year at AEP’s Cardinal plant, which proved this low capital cost technology is efficient and cost-effective on large coal-fired boilers. We are committed – and aggressively working – to assist the commercialization of multi-pollutant control technologies for our industry. This agreement with Fuel Tech complements that commitment.”

Steven C. Argabright, president and chief operating officer of Fuel Tech, Inc., commented, "We are extremely excited and gratified to be chosen by AEP as a partner in its plans to comply with new regulations on NOx emissions. The agreement, which marks the second agreement of its kind with a major electric utility, will benefit AEP by providing pricing insurance and implementation priority while providing Fuel Tech sole supplier status for SNCR-based technologies and updated outage schedules to allow for maximum efficiency of program implementation."

About AEP

American Electric Power is a multinational energy company based in Columbus, Ohio. AEP is one of the United States’ largest generators of electricity with more than 38,000 megawatts of generating capacity. AEP is also one of the nation’s leading wholesale energy marketers and traders. AEP delivers electricity to more than 4.8 million customers in 11 states – Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. Through holdings in Australia, Brazil, China, Mexico and the United Kingdom, AEP serves more than 4 million customers outside the U.S. Wholly owned subsidiaries are involved in power engineering and construction services, energy management and telecommunications.

About Fuel-Tech N.V.

Fuel-Tech N.V. is a leading technology company engaged in the worldwide development, commercialization and application of state-of-the-art proprietary technologies for air pollution control, process optimization, and advanced engineering services. The Company’s NOx reduction processes, which include NOxOUT®, NOxOUT CASCADE®, Amine Enhanced Fuel Lean Gas Reburn (AEFLGR™), Fuel Lean Gas Reburn (FLGR™) and NOxOUT SCR™, have established Fuel-Tech N.V. as a leader in post combustion NOx control systems.

New technologies that have grown out of the core NOx reduction business include those in FUEL CHEM™ and advanced engineering services. FUEL CHEM™ technology centers around the unique application of specialty chemicals to improve the performance of combustion units while advanced engineering services utilizes Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modeling and visualization techniques to predict the behavior of industrial processes. Currently, the total global air pollution control market in which Fuel-Tech N.V. operates is estimated at $18 billion including well over 1,000 utility and industrial combustion units in the United States, many of which will have to meet new, stricter emission standards. As global concern about the environment rapidly heightens, so does awareness of Fuel-Tech N.V.’s low capital cost, retrofitable technologies, currently in use in over 260 combustion units around the world.

This press release contains statements of a forward-looking nature regarding future events. These statements are only predictions and actual events may differ materially. Please refer to documents that American Electric Power and Fuel Tech file from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a discussion of certain factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements.