Dresden-based company convinces with automated, corrosion-free reinforcement for concrete construction
Soul of Concrete has won the fourth edition of the Urban Land Institute's (ULI) PropTech Innovation Challenge (PIC) in Germany. With SOUL, the Dresden-based company is developing a new type of three-dimensional, fiber-wound reinforcement that can replace classic steel reinforcement in concrete construction. It is automatically produced as a finished module and used in a single work step. The solution thus addresses several central challenges in construction: high labor costs, low productivity, CO₂ emissions and the susceptibility to corrosion of conventional steel reinforcement.
The Urban Land Institute is launching the PropTech Innovation Challenge across Europe to make innovative and scalable solutions for key challenges in the real estate industry visible and to promote exchange between established market participants, start-ups and the technology world. The initiative, initiated by the ULI Young Leaders, will focus on resilience in the real estate industry in 2026. Solutions were sought that would help make the built environment more resilient to economic, environmental and social pressures.
Soul of Concrete convinced the German jury of experts with an approach that industrialises a work step that has so far been strongly characterised by craftsmanship. While conventional steel reinforcements are laboriously cut, bent and assembled on the construction site or in the precast plant, SOUL is automatically manufactured as a complete reinforcement module. The technology can use different fiber materials such as carbon, basalt, aramid, glass or natural fibers. According to the company, this can reduce the total cost of the finished component by up to 40 percent, the reinforcement can be installed up to 20 times faster and the embedded CO₂ footprint can be reduced by up to 80 percent. At the same time, the reinforcement is corrosion-free. The first application focus is on precast concrete elements; in the future, the technology is also intended for buildings, bridges and other infrastructure structures.
Ludwig Raps, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Soul of Concrete: "Concrete is one of the most important building materials in our built environment, but the way we reinforce it has hardly changed fundamentally in decades. This is exactly where we come in. With SOUL, we turn a labor-intensive artisanal process into an automated product that can be manufactured. We are very pleased that the ULI jury sees this as a contribution to a more resilient real estate and construction industry. For us, the award is both confirmation and incentive to now bring the technology into practical application and scaling up together with partners."
The jury evaluated the submitted solutions based on three key criteria: potential impact, degree of innovation, market launch potential and likelihood of adoption. This year's challenge focused on actionable, scalable and competitive innovations that promote resilient business models and help keep real estate viable and competitive in the long term.
Sabine Georgi, Managing Director of ULI in Germany, Austria and Switzerland: "For the real estate industry, resilience means much more than being able to react to crises. It begins where we change structures, processes and technologies in such a way that our built environment remains efficient, affordable and adaptable in the long term. Soul of Concrete starts precisely with such a fundamental process. The solution combines automation and increased productivity with resource efficiency and durability, exemplifying how technological innovation can make a concrete contribution to the future viability of our industry. I congratulate Ludwig Raps and the entire Soul of Concrete team on winning the German PropTech Innovation Challenge."
PIC runs in two phases across Europe and started this year with eight regional competitions: CEE with Poland and the Czech Republic, Germany, France, Greece and Cyprus, Iberia with Spain and Portugal, Austria, Switzerland and Great Britain and Ireland. The finalists from each region will present their solutions to the respective national ULI PIC Jury Committees. As the German winner, Soul of Concrete qualifies for the pan-European Grand Final in September. The pan-European winner will be announced at the C Change Summit on 5 November 2026 in Dublin .
All regional winners will receive a one-year associate membership with ULI. The overall winner will also receive a full-fledged ULI membership for one year, including access to events such as the ULI Europe Conference and the C Change Summit, as well as a place in the ULI Accelerator Program with additional growth, mentorship, and investment opportunities.
PIC in Germany will be organisationally supported in 2026 by ULI Young Leaders Niklas Kohl, Investment Manager at Schroders Capital Real Estate, and Jan Niklas Meertens, Sales Lead at Green Fusion.
Jury members of the PIC in Germany 2026 (in alphabetical order)
Julia Arlt, Entrepreneur and Founder, Global Digital Real Estate Leader, PwCIsabella Chacón Troidl, Member of the Executive Committee, ULIProf. Dr. Christos Chantzaras, Professor of Entrepreneurship in Civil Engineering, Frankfurt University of Applied SciencesSabine Georgi, Managing Director, ULI Germany/Austria/SwitzerlandGregor Grassl, Associate Partner, Drees & SommerProf. Dr. Kerstin Hennig, Head of Real Estate, Frankfurt School of FinanceNiklas Kohl, Investment Manager, Schroders Capital Real EstateFrederike Krinn, Managing Director, Eduard Winter K106, ULI Next Germany ChairMalte Leschewitz, Director, Hines, ULI Young Leader Germany ChairJan Niklas Meertens, Sales Lead, Green Fusion GmbHDavid Nadge, General Partner, Realyze VenturesAnja Rath, Managing Partner, PT1Christian Schmid, Member of the Management Board, Helaba, ULI Germany ChairCaspar Schmitz-Morkramer, CEO, founder and owner of caspar. Carl von Stechow, Real Estate Investor and Co-Founder GPTI, Managing Director, Engel & Völkers Schleswig-Holstein
