Research & Development
CA technology shaped by active research, not just catalog specs
CSDS partners with research stations, universities, and equipment developers working at the frontier of Controlled Atmosphere storage. That connection to live research means the equipment, sensors, and control logic we specify reflect what actually protects quality over a long storage campaign.
Research partners
Working alongside leading CA research groups
Modern CA storage is evolving quickly — lower oxygen setpoints, ppb-level ethylene tracking, and daily fermentation markers are now practical on commercial rooms. We stay close to the groups driving that work so our clients benefit from validated, field-tested technology.
Wageningen University & Research (WUR)
Long-running collaboration on CA and DCA protocols, post-harvest physiology, and validation of advanced analyzer platforms under real commercial conditions.
Radboud University
Partnership on trace-gas detection, photoacoustic sensing, and the underlying instrumentation that makes ppb-level ethylene and fermentation markers reliable in a storage room.
Aarhus University
State-of-the-art CA research facilities and shared protocols for apple, pear, and berry cultivars — connecting lab-scale findings to full-size commercial rooms.
VCBT Leuven & Cranfield University
Applied research on post-harvest quality, storage-disorder prevention, and CA conditions tuned to specific cultivars and growing regions.
Equipment innovation partners
Ongoing collaborations with analyzer, sensor, and controls manufacturers (including groups working on photoacoustic detection) to bring next-generation measurement into mainstream CA rooms.
Active research programs
Research programs we track and deploy
Two long-running programs meaningfully shape how we design and tune a CA room today. Both are moving from research into commercial deployment.
MaxFresh — daily CA quality monitoring
Developed with academic partners (Radboud University, VCBT Leuven, LWK Jork, Cranfield University) under the Interreg and Horizon 2020 programs, MaxFresh enables daily measurement of the gases that matter most inside a storage cell. The goal is two-fold: run produce safely at the lowest viable oxygen setpoint (DCA) without triggering anaerobic fermentation, and monitor the day-by-day development of decay and senescence across the storage campaign.
- Daily gas profile per room, not just weekly spot checks
- Early warning on fermentation markers before firmness and flavour are lost
- Lets DCA rooms run closer to the true physiological limit — safely
- Technical development with Radboud University, NKT Photonics, and Senseair
Ethera — precision ethylene detection
An innovative cross-border collaboration under the Interreg Flanders–Netherlands programme, the Ethera project focuses on extremely accurate ethylene detection. Because ethylene drives ripening and shortens shelf life, precise, real-time measurement lets operators manage storage and transport conditions more tightly — reducing waste and holding quality further down the chain.
- Less food waste across the cold chain
- Longer shelf life for sensitive fruit
- Better quality control between storage, transport, and retail
- More sustainable logistics and post-harvest flows
Want to deploy what the research actually proves?
We help growers, packers, and storage operators translate these research programs into practical CA rooms — sized, specified, and controlled around what the data shows matters.
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