JFlow®: 30 years of innovation
Innovation is at the heart of JBA’s culture – and has been since the start. We push boundaries, embrace emerging technologies, and redefine what’s possible in environmental modelling. JFlow® is a testament to that culture of innovation – a pioneering software tool which traces its routes to JBA’s inception and is now driving transformative change across the industry and in global settings.
The early days of JFlow®
The origin of JFlow® emerged from a moment of national urgency. In 1998, widespread flooding across England and Wales prompted an independent inquiry. In response, the Environment Minister at that time committed to publishing national flood risk maps within 9 months - something no country had ever attempted before.
To achieve this goal, the Environment Agency (EA) approached their network of consultants. Some said that this was impossible within the required timescale. But JBA said yes - and that bold commitment marked the conception of JFlow®.
To meet the challenge we had to innovate rapidly. JFlow® was developed to simulate flood risk at scale, combining high-tech modelling with the creativity and determination that is unique to JBA.
A technological breakthrough
In 2007, JFlow® became the first flood modelling software to harness GPU technology to solve the shallow water equations—dramatically reducing computation times. This leap in performance was recognised in 2012 with a MacRobert Award, celebrating our breakthrough in low-cost supercomputing.
Innovation and impact
Since then, JFlow® has evolved into a world-leading software package capable of simulating river, surface water, coastal, and dam break floods at scales ranging from local to national.
By retaining full intellectual property, we’ve been able to continuously enhance its functionality and offer tailored support to our clients.
In 2023, Marc Pinnell, JBA’s Managing Director, highlighted our commitment to innovation and the significance for JFlow®:
'Annually we commit more than 8% of our income to innovation… It’s through investment in our research and development programme that we’ve been able to create and deploy our own in-house software such as JFlow®.'
JFlow® today
Most recently JFlow® was deployed in the AWS cloud to run Environment Agency NAFRA2 simulations. This monumental effort involved over a million hours of compute time to produce a new high-resolution flood map for England—demonstrating JFlow®’s scalability and power in tackling increasingly complex environmental challenges.
Examples of JFlow®’s impact for our clients include:
The future: JFlow® and artificial intelligence (AI)
JFlow® continues to evolve. Its AI component is now being developed to enhance predictive capabilities, automate scenario testing, and support smarter decision-making. This next phase will further strengthen our ability to deliver resilient solutions in a rapidly changing world.
For more information about JFlow® and how we can support you in future, please contact Rob Berry, Head of Technology, Data and Software Development.
