In the final of the Prop Tech Germany Award for the third time: R3LEAF from Leipzig. An interview with Tore Waldhausen

The Leipzig-based start-up R3LEAF (pronounced ‘releaf’ in English) is based in the old cotton mill and focuses on construction in the face of the climate crisis. On 11 June 2026, start-up founder Tore Waldhausen and R3LEAF were nominated at the REAL Future Conference in Hanover for the final of the Prop Tech Germany Award in the Asset & Investment Performance Management category – the first East German start-up to be nominated for the third year running.

We had already spoken to Tore back in May 2025 and introduced the start-up; this nomination is a good reason to catch up with him again. Tore Waldhausen and the author have been on first-name terms since the ‘Werkstatt der Mutigen’ and have continued to do so in this conversation.

Tore, what is the Prop Tech Germany Award, and what does this nomination mean for R3LEAF?

According to its own description, the Prop Tech Germany Award is one of the most important accolades for digital innovation in the construction and property sector. A particularly important part of the competition is the live pitch on site in Hanover at the Real Estate Arena – a trade fair of growing importance within the sector. The nominated start-ups are given three minutes there to present their company to the jury. The focus is on questions such as: Who are we? What problem are we solving? How does our technology work? What is our business model? How will the solution be scaled, and which markets are we targeting?

For us at R3LEAF, this nomination is also a confirmation of our progress over the past few years. Since our foundation in 2022, our focus has been on climate protection and climate adaptation. We have developed software that automatically analyses buildings, identifies climate risks and highlights specific courses of action for individual buildings as well as entire property portfolios – and now even allocates funding.

Tore Waldhausen, one of our interviewees, with his medal. Photo: blackprint

You’ve been nominated in the ‘Asset & Investment Performance Management’ category; after our last conversation, I wouldn’t have categorised you there. Has R3LEAF’s focus changed?

Yes, in line with changing market conditions, we have consistently refined our business model and our product. Whilst regulatory ESG issues (Environmental, Social and Governance) have recently become less significant – and, for example, certain reporting requirements have been adjusted at European level – we have aligned our offering more closely with the current needs of asset managers and property owners.

Today, we support our users not only in analysing climate risks and devising measures, but also, in particular, in identifying suitable funding opportunities. To this end, we have developed an AI-powered funding assistant that takes into account national, regional and local funding programmes. This enables users to quickly access information on funding eligibility, grant amounts, durations, commitment periods and other relevant conditions.

It would probably be pointless to speculate on our chances of winning the award – after all, there are three nominees per category. What does the nomination mean to you?

We are delighted that R3LEAF has been nominated for the PropTech Germany Award for the third year running. From our perspective, this renewed nomination shows that the jury views both the further development of our product and the adaptation of our business model to current market requirements in a positive light. Accordingly, we’re now looking forward to the chance to win the PropTech Germany Award.

What do you hope to gain from the nomination?

Of course, it’s nice to win prizes or to gain more public attention through nominations. I hope that this attention will help even more people become aware of our solution and want to work with it. We’re receiving feedback that we can offer real support when it comes to investment decisions and securing funding, as well as in risk analysis, and we’d like to use this to assist even more property managers, SMEs and local authorities, particularly in and around Leipzig.

Tore, I wish you every success and thank you for the interview.

On 9 September, the winners in the eleven categories, as well as the overall winner of the PropTech Germany Award, will be announced in Frankfurt am Main. We’ll be reporting on how things turned out for Tore and R3LEAF.