BUCHI–CRA-W partnership set to expand in-field NIR analysis

BUCHI has entered a partnership with Belgium’s Walloon Agricultural Research Centre (CRA-W) to advance the use of portable near-infrared (NIR) technologies for on-site agricultural and agro-food analysis. The collaboration focuses on making rapid, reliable quality assessment more accessible through field-ready tools, training, and mobile analytical services. By combining handheld devices with cloud-based platforms, the partners aim to support faster and better-informed decision-making across the value chain.

BUCHI and CRA-W announced a collaboration that integrates portable NIR technologies into CRA-W’s research, education activities, and its Mobilab initiative, which delivers analytical services directly in the field. Central to the partnership are BUCHI’s NeoSpectra Cloud Platform and handheld NIR solutions, designed to provide practical, on-site quality control for agricultural raw materials.

CRA-W’s Mobilab offers training, field demonstrations, and on-site analytical research, reducing dependence on centralized laboratories and improving access to real-time data. The cooperation prioritizes simplified NIR model deployment for end users, hands-on training for researchers and industry professionals, and real-world field applications. Vincent Baeten, Scientific Director of CRA-W’s Quality and Authentication of Agricultural Products Unit, said the tools “enable us to bring quality analysis to the field and factories, making research and education more accessible and impactful.”

BUCHI contributes its ProxiScout™ handheld NIR spectrometer, featuring a broad spectral range of 1,350–2,550 nm for precise on-site analysis of agricultural and feed raw materials.

CRA-W plays a key role in Belgian and European agricultural research, with a strong focus on analytical methods, precision agriculture, and the transfer of applied research to industry and policymakers.