Innovation: Automated 3D carbon reinforcement

The construction sector is in the midst of a deep structural crisis. Reinforced concrete, which has been the standard for around 150 years, causes significant problems: cement is responsible for around 8% of global CO₂ emissions, productivity is extremely low, and the manual reinforcement process accounts for up to 50% of construction costs. In addition, steel is susceptible to corrosion, which limits the service life of buildings and increases renovation costs. The manual reinforcement process is therefore the central bottleneck in the industry – expensive, slow, and prone to errors.

The patented Soul technology is the first fully automated, modular 3D carbon fiber reinforcement system that can completely replace conventional steel. Unlike previous 2D carbon solutions, it enables industrial, software-controlled production of corrosion-free, high-performance components.

The advantages are cross-sector:

Precast plants benefit from complete automation, less dependence on skilled labor, and significantly reduced transport costs due to much lighter components.

Building construction: The elimination of corrosion-related concrete cover reduces concrete requirements by up to 70%. Together with the elimination of manual reinforcement work and up to 20 times faster installation, total costs are reduced by up to 40%.

Infrastructure: Corrosion-free carbon reinforcement multiplies the service life of structures and significantly reduces renovation costs.

An example illustrates the potential: A conventional 5-meter reinforcement cage made of 58 steel parts weighs approx. 65 kg and is manufactured manually. The Soul solution replaces it with a single, load path-optimized carbon component weighing only approx. 2 kg, manufactured in about 5 minutes. In total, 1 ton of steel can be replaced by around 30 kg of carbon.

The technology combines fully automated manufacturing with AI-supported planning software, is comprehensively validated and patented. Soul Concrete thus addresses the core problem of reinforcement and makes industrial prefabrication the answer to climate protection, skilled labor shortages and affordable housing.