Science, Innovation and Technology Committee
Oral evidence: Innovation showcase, HC 523
Tuesday 10 February 2026
Ordered by the House of Commons to be published on 10 February 2026.
Members present: Dame Chi Onwurah (Chair); Kit Malthouse; Dr Lauren Sullivan; Adam Thompson; Freddie van Mierlo; Martin Wrigley; Daniel Zeichner.
Question 52
Witness
I: Ridha Bentiba, Joint Chief Executive Officer, HR Wallingford.
Witness: Ridha Bentiba.
Chair: Welcome to the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee’s Innovation Showcase. The Committee wants to understand how the UK supports innovators and what more can be done, so to inform our work we select an innovator to share their story before our main evidence session each week. Freddie van Mierlo has suggested this week’s innovator; Freddie, could you introduce them?
Q52 Freddie van Mierlo: It is my pleasure to introduce the Committee to HR Wallingford, which is based in my constituency, very close to the river. It specialises very much in water, following on from some of the themes we have had in the past. It very much works on hard engineering—in the past it has done really good things on the Thames Barrier—and it is doing good work as well on offshore wind, but more recently it is also doing fantastic work in the space of AI.
When I visited, not long after I was elected, it talked me through its Sapphire project, which is an AI tool that can predict and inform where pollution is going to take place and what the sources are. It will be able to speak much more credibly to that than I can. Speaking to us today is Ridha Bentiba, the joint chief executive who co-leads the organisation’s strategic direction and is a specialist in its advanced modelling.
The reason why I really wanted to bring it here today is that it is an example of the excellent research and innovation that happens in the UK. I do not think it is particularly well known–it is hidden away in a lovely leafy part of Oxfordshire–and yet it is doing really important nationally and internationally significant work. So that is why I thought it would be really interesting and helpful to bring it forward today.
Ridha Bentiba: Thank you, Freddie, for the good introduction; thank you, Chair and members of the Committee for inviting me to showcase HR Wallingford, and to contribute to your inquiry into the UK science and technology landscape.
HR Wallingford is an independent, not-for-profit research and innovation organisation. We specialise in water in its widest context, the environment and sustainable infrastructure. We are not a start-up, but the opportunities and challenges that we face are relevant to scale-ups.
You will be interested to know that we started our journey as the UK National Hydraulics Laboratory over 75 years ago. Today we operate as a private commercial organisation powered by applied research. What does that mean? It means that we reinvest a significant proportion of our profits back into research, and this approach ensures our cutting-edge work remains relevant, adds value and is impactful. At our core we help industry, developers, Governments and regulators understand and manage water-related risks. For example, we address challenges such as flooding, drought, erosion and pollution. We support the design and operations of ports, coastal defences, nuclear power stations and much more.
We combine three capabilities rarely found in one organisation. First, cutting-edge physical modelling: we operate one of the largest specialist hydraulic laboratories in the world. Secondly, advanced numerical and AI-driven modelling providing powerful decision support data and, thirdly, tools and deep scientific expertise with decades of knowledge. This is drawn from more than 200 engineers and scientists, many of whom are world-leading in their fields. This combination delivers independent, evidence-based answers to complex challenges.
Today I have selected two examples of innovation areas. First, the challenge of the energy transition. The UK’s ambitions for offshore wind depends on innovation at pace, but also on deep understanding of the marine environment, which we have. As wind turbines move into deeper and more energetic waters, engineering challenges increase significantly: foundation stability, scour, cable protection, fatigue and noise impacts. These all require rigorous evaluation and testing. HR Wallingford is one of the few places in Europe capable of physical modelling these conditions at large scale. This de-risks projects, reduces costs, shortens programme and improves safety.
But to remain in a competitive position in the UK, especially when it comes to floating offshore wind, which is even more challenging, requires continued investment in the physical science behind it. This is why our ambition is to develop a new deep water testing facility for floating offshore wind. We are currently progressing the facility’s strategic and business case with match funding from the Crown Estate. Such a facility will allow testing of floating turbines, mooring structures and offshore structures in the extreme conditions found around the UK in deep waters. It will support the UK supply chain, stimulate innovation, accelerate time to market and maintain the UK’s global leadership in offshore engineering science. We must be able to secure funding for this missing national capability.
We will be engaging with DSIT and others regarding capital funding; we are already engaging with UKRI and universities on developing a national research programme associated with such a facility.
My second example is the challenge of water quality, which Freddie referred to earlier. The UK’s rivers, lakes and coastal waters face growing pressure. Regulators, water companies and local authorities need better tools; they must be able to identify pollution sources, understand risks, forecast conditions and target interventions. Digital innovation is transforming what is possible today in this technological advancement. With support from DSIT’s Manchester Prize and currently the UK Space Agency, we have developed an AI-enabled water quality tool called Sapphire. It helps users understand the environmental health of water bodies in near-real time. Sapphire combines hydrodynamic expertise, machine learning and high-resolution satellite data to provide early warning of pollution risks, rapid scenario testing, improved evidence for investment decisions and better understanding of compliance against regulatory standards. This shifts operators and regulators from reactive to proactive management. The principles behind Sapphire apply far beyond water quality; AI and advanced modelling can transform so many areas. But AI is only as good as the underlying science that trains it, so investment in the physical and environmental data that underpins these models is just as important.
Based on our experience, I would offer three reflections on how the UK Government and industry can best support innovation. First, invest in applied science and sovereign capability. Facilities like ours, the physical modelling laboratories, are national assets. They are key in tackling societal challenges. They ensure the UK can research, design, test and operate critical infrastructure independently and they stimulate high-level, high-value engineering jobs.
Secondly, support long-term research partnerships. These complex challenges of energy transition or water quality require deep collaboration between academia, industry regulators and organisations like ours. Stable, multi-year funding encourages innovation and gives industry confidence to invest. Thirdly, strengthen the talent pipeline: the UK needs more homegrown scientific and technical skills and it must remain attractive to global talent. It is indeed very difficult to recruit for senior technical roles due to skills shortage in the UK, and access to international talent is critical.
In summary, HR Wallingford exists to advance science for the public good, and we are very proud to contribute to the UK’s resilience and security, economic growth and transition to a low-carbon future. Thank you.
Chair: Thank you. It is very interesting to hear of the evolution of a public organisation and the work you are doing in an area, which, as I know the whole Committee will agree, is of real interest to our constituents—particularly water quality. Thank you very much for your innovation showcase, and thank you very much, Freddie, for introducing him.