The UK and US have agreed a deal to boost the building of nuclear plants in both countries, clearing the way for a major expansion of new nuclear projects and the speeding up of approvals for new reactors.

The deal – known as the Atlantic Partnership for Advanced Nuclear Energy – is expected to be signed during US president Donald Trump’s state visit to the UK this week and could see multiple leading US nuclear companies build projects in the UK.

The UK government said the deal heralds new “golden age” of nuclear and drive forward the government’s “energy superpower mission” to take back control of Britain’s energy for good.

The deal will also make it quicker for companies to build new nuclear power stations in both countries, for example by speeding up the time it takes for a nuclear project to get a licence from roughly three or four years to roughly two.