Their scheme, known as “Project Quasar”, will aim to demonstrate to other countries “the immense potential” of SMR technology, which Madhvani International then hopes to develop worldwide.

The Madhvanis are proposing to use GE-Hitachi’s BWRX-300 SMRs at their power plants, although sites have not yet been chosen.

Each reactor would be capable of generating up to about 300 megawatts of power and the company wants to deploy its first before the end of this decade.

Madhvani International has said it will aim to develop around one gigawatt of capacity in total, suggesting it will build up to four reactors. 

Adrian Simper, the Government’s former chief nuclear adviser, who is now working with the Madhvanis, said the UK had been chosen by the company because it was seen as “a gold standard for a nuclear deployment”.

He said: “First, the UK is an open market in terms of technology in a way that France, for example, isn’t.

“The second factor is we have a regulatory system that is very highly regarded internationally, so if you can deploy a reactor here you can have confidence you can deploy it anywhere in the world.”

The total size of the proposed investment has not been confirmed yet but Mr Simper added it was certain to be in the “billions of pounds” range.