The “family office” of the two Swabian entrepreneurial families Beyer and Stoll (BESTO GmbH) becomes a new shareholder in KEYOU, the hydrogen specialist founded in 2015. This means that the fast-growing Munich-based company will gain another financially strong investor in 2021, alongside the European Innovation Council (EIC) of the European Commission. The funds are to flow primarily into the development and commercialization of H2 technology and into the further expansion of the company.
Behind the Beyer and Stoll families is, among others, the FESTO group of companies, the world’s leading supplier of control and automation technology with its headquarters in Esslingen, which recently generated sales of around EUR 3 billion. As BESTO GmbH, the two Swabian entrepreneurial families have successfully invested for many years in highly innovative companies in a wide range of industries, including several technology start-ups. Now the hydrogen specialist KEYOU followed, which, based on its many years of H2 expertise and its engineering know-how as well as specific hydrogen components, is developing conventional combustion engines and vehicles so that they can be operated emission-free with hydrogen.
KEYOU intends to use the fresh capital primarily to drive forward the structural and personnel expansion of the company and to invest further in the areas of motor and hydrogen vehicle technologies. In addition to the financial means, KEYOU also benefits from a broad strategic network that BESTO has to offer: “We are glad to have gained another investor in BESTO GmbH, who is not only convinced of hydrogen in mobility and the hydrogen engine as a future drive technology, but also of KEYOU’s technological leadership. We are building a long-term partnership with the common goal of enabling affordable and clean mobility based on hydrogen,” explains Thomas Korn, CEO and co-founder of KEYOU GmbH.
“We are delighted to be able to support KEYOU, a growth company that, as a market leader in hydrogen technologies and engines, is an ideal fit for our vision of sustainable and resource-efficient mobility. What is created at KEYOU can become a role model for the entire automotive industry. Hydrogen must be part of the solution if we want to achieve the mobility turnaround,” say Thomas Beyer and Curt Michael Stoll, managing partners of BESTO GmbH.
With its innovative hydrogen solutions and engineering expertise, the Munich-based high-tech company is a recognized technology leader in the field of hydrogen engines. The Munich-based company already counts leading global engine and vehicle manufacturers among its customers. Next year they plan to put “zero emission” prototype vehicles on the road for the first time, whose hydrogen engines are based on KEYOU-inside technology.
