A planned new generation of mini nuclear reactors could protect Britain from future energy crises.
Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng is poised to approve funding for British engineering giant Rolls-Royce to create a fleet of mini-reactors.
Ministers are understood to have adopted a 'change of focus' towards nuclear power amid the current crisis caused by rocketing global wholesale gas prices.
Rolls-Royce believes its plans to install at least 16 plants could create 40,000 jobs by 2050 in the Midlands, the north of England and other parts of the country.
According to the Sunday Times, a consortium led by the engineering firm has secured the necessary £210million to get matching funding from the taxpayer.
It comes amid news that Chinese investment in Britain's next generation of nuclear power stations is set to be banned on security grounds.
Ministers are set to formally bar any further involvement by China's General Nuclear Power Group in the £20billion Sizewell C nuclear power project.
A planned new generation of mini nuclear reactors could protect Britain from future energy crises. Above: Engineering giant Rolls-Royce is set to create a fleet of mini-reactors like the depicted one above
The UK's seven nuclear plants provide about 17 per cent of its electricity needs, but that is due to nearly halve by 2024 as ageing plants are decommissioned
The Treasury, which was previously seen as the obstacle to new nuclear projects because of their rising cost, has reportedly also concluded that more nuclear power is needed.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak is said to have made clear in a meeting on Friday that he thought nuclear should play a more prominent role in future energy policy.
A source close to Mr Sunak said his general view was that Britain should have had a weightier focus on nuclear 'ten years ago, when it was cheaper' but added that the country 'can't rely' on wind and solar power.
Mini reactors, known as Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), generate around 450 megawatts of power - around a seventh of what a conventional power station such as Hinkley Point produces.
State support for them was revealed in Prime Minister Boris Johnson's ten-point green industrial revolution plan that was released last November.
Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng is poised to approve £200million in funding for the project
Recent data from the National Grid shows how dependent Britain remains on gas.
The country's electricity comes from sources which, other than gas and
