KEYOU wins DILO as lead investor for the first part of its Series B funding round

KEYOU, the pioneer of CO2-neutral hydrogen mobility, has closed the first part of its Series B financing round with adouble-digit million euro amount. The financing round is led by DILO Armaturen und Anlagen GmbH, which has made a seven-figure investment in KEYOU. Other investors include the European Innovation Council (EIC), the BESTO GmbH "Family Office" of the two Swabian entrepreneurial families Beyer and Stoll (industrial group FESTO) and Baywobau, all of which have already invested in KEYOU as part of the Series A financing round. The funds will primarily be used to build up the pioneer fleet and to adapt the KEYOU-inside system to a 40-ton semitrailer truck.

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Following the successful completion of the first part of its financing round, the Munich-based hydrogen expert is already in talks with other potential investors. The Series B round, which is expected to be completed by the end of the year, aims to raise a total of around €35 million. KEYOU intends to use the fresh capital primarily to drive forward the assembly of its pioneering fleet, the further development and adaptation of the KEYOU-inside system to a 40-ton semitrailer truck for the commercial rollout of its "H2Mobility as a Service" (H2MaaS) solution, and the further structural and personnel expansion of the company.

DILO is not only in the role of investor - but also first joint project with KEYOU

With DILO, KEYOU has gained another important strategic investor. The leading gas specialist from Bavaria develops integrated solutions for professional, emission-free gas management and wants to further expand its business activities in the promising hydrogen segment. Accordingly, the cooperation between the two companies has great potential. The first concrete project cooperation is already underway. KEYOU has supported DILO with its H2 expertise developing a universal H2 service device for repair shops, relieving staff in all hydrogen-related work. The aim of the development is to qualify more workshops to work with hydrogen vehicles and to continuously expand the H2 workshop network in line with the increasing number of vehicles and hydrogen regions.

In the future, the H2 service tool will automate basic service functions that previously could only be performed by specially trained personnel. Details of the device will be announced at a later date. For now, DILO and KEYOU are only announcing that it will be a completely new device with innovative functionalities not yet available on the market.

The human factor was also a key factor in the negotiations.

"We are very pleased to have found another investor in DILO who believes in the future of the internal combustion engine in combination with hydrogen and in our approach to convert existing vehicles," said Thomas Korn, CEO and co-founder of KEYOU. "Another major advantage is DILO's long-standing expertise in the industrial gas segment, which opens up valuable synergy potential for us. In addition, as with all our strategic investors, it was important to us that the 'human factor' was right. This is definitely the case with DILO.

"The capital increase from DILO and our existing investors will allow us not only to enter the market smoothly but also to scale our technology to other engine and vehicle classes. This will allow us to address the market even more intensively in the future and further expand our technology leadership," adds Olaf Bergner, CFO of KEYOU.

DILO is also looking forward to the cooperation: "With KEYOU, we are supporting a forward-looking and innovative growth company that, as a thought leader in the field of zero-emission hydrogen mobility, fits in perfectly with us and our motto 'One Vision. Zero Emissions'," said Christian Scheller, Managing Director of DILO Armaturen und Anlagen GmbH. "We are convinced that hydrogen engines are an important part of the solution for the mobility transition. Especially in the commercial vehicle segment, pragmatic solutions are needed that enable the industry to decarbonize quickly and economically."

Market entry with 18-ton trucks, attractive 40-ton truck in the pipeline

KEYOU will deliver its first 18-ton pioneer vehicles to pilot customers this year, marking its market entry. The company aims to demonstrate the market readiness of its conversion technology for the first time and prepare the market for further scaling. KEYOU is already working on larger engines to address the heavy-duty segment shortly, as this is where the company sees the greatest potential in the coming years. A look at the TCO (total cost of ownership) of KEYOU's 40-ton H2 truck shows that it is significantly cheaper than battery and fuel cell trucks due to economies of scale and toll exemptions alone. It will even undercut the TCO of conventional 40-ton diesel trucks in the medium term.

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