Dresden researcher receives Nobel Sustainability Academic Award 2025

The internationally renowned award honors his outstanding role as a pioneer of carbon concrete, a sustainable alternative to conventional reinforced concrete. Carbon concrete enables resource-efficient, lightweight and durable construction, is a game changer in the preservation and renovation of our built environment and thus makes a significant contribution to reducing CO₂ emissions in the construction industry. In 2016, Prof. Curbach received the German Future Prize, which is awarded by the Federal President, for this pioneering development.

For over three decades, Prof. Curbach has shaped the Institute of Concrete and Masonry Structures at TU Dresden and, as a researcher, advanced the idea of fundamentally rethinking construction - making it lighter, more economical and more sustainable. With projects such as the carbon concrete building "CUBE" on the TU Dresden campus, the world's first building made entirely of carbon-reinforced concrete, he impressively demonstrates how innovative research can be put directly into practice.

Award winner Prof. Manfred Curbach emphasizes: "It is an exceptionally high honor to receive this award from the Nobel Sustainability Trust. I am delighted and would like to take this opportunity to thank all the colleagues and employees with whom I have been able to develop carbon reinforced concrete to the point of application over the past 30 years. Without this large and international team, such an innovation in the construction industry would not have been possible. Thanks are also due in particular to the TU Dresden, which has made continuous research possible by creating unique boundary conditions. The development of carbon concrete is also an example of the high-performance research and transfer landscape with all its federal and state sponsors. My and our thanks go to all of them."

• Background

The prestigious Sustainability Awards, which are presented by the Nobel Sustainability Trust (NST) in collaboration with the Technical University of Munich (TUM), this year honor two outstanding researchers from Germany and Canada as well as an international organization based in Australia. The 2025 award winners, who will share prize money totaling up to 1.3 million Swedish kronor, are Prof. Manfred Curbach from TU Dresden in the category "Leadership in the Implementation of Sustainability", Prof. Paul Hebert from the University of Guelph (category "Outstanding Research and Development in Biodiversity") and the Global Observatory of Healthy and Sustainable Cities (GOHSC, the category "Outstanding Research and Development for Smart and Sustainable Urban Solutions").

The award winners are recognized for their leadership and innovation in the implementation of sustainability measures. In particular, their contributions include the development of eco-friendly carbon concrete, the introduction of DNA barcodes to catalog biodiversity and the establishment of a global monitoring system for healthier and more sustainable cities.

The prizes will be awarded at the 5th Summit of the Nobel Sustainability Trust on December 5, 2025 in Miami. The Sustainability Awards are open to individuals from academia and industry as well as organizations and companies that are actively working towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).