LONDON (Reuters) – The British government said on Friday it will invest 40 million pounds ($51 million) in developing and supporting small nuclear reactor projects.
The government said 30 million pounds of funding will go to support three advanced modular reactor (AMR) projects in Oxfordshire, Cheshire and Lancashire in England.
AMRs are smaller than traditional nuclear plants and use intense heat generated in nuclear reactions to produce low-carbon electricity.
They can be used in remote locations thanks to their size, and can produce enough energy to power anything from a small village to a medium-sized city.
The remaining funding will go smaller research, design, and manufacturing projects to create up to 200 jobs, the government said in a statement.
Britain last year set a target to reach net zero emissions by 2050, which will require a huge increase in low-carbon electricity such as wind, solar and nuclear.
(Reporting by Nina Chestney; Editing by Frances Kerry)
