Westinghouse is planning a nuclear renaissance that will use Britain as a springboard to supply reactors to the whole of Europe, creating more than 15,000 jobs here.

Stephen Tritch, president and chief executive of the US-based reactor maker, which is owned by Toshiba, told The Times that the UK was one of four major markets on which Westinghouse was concentrating because of the Government's stated intention to develop a fleet of new-generation nuclear power stations.

“If the Government were to proceed with four to five new units we could use the UK as a base to supply other countries in Europe. This is the biggest market in Europe that we are looking at because other countries will only want one or two units,” Mr Tritch said.

“We employ 1,700 people in the UK and have 40 per cent of our people here but if there is a green light for just five nuclear reactors we could see ten times that number working for us.”

Westinghouse is concentrating on selling its power stations to the US, China, South Africa and the UK, although 40 countries have expressed an interest in the company's nuclear reactors, which represent 40 per cent of existing reactors.

Manufacturing of some of the more complicated modular parts of the Westinghouse reactor would be undertaken in the UK, Mr Tritch added, although some components would probably be shipped in from low-cost manufacturers in Asia.

Westinghouse has a long connection with the UK's nuclear industry through its Springfields nuclear site near Preston, which has manufactured nuclear fuel fabrication services since the mid-1940s. British Nuclear Fuels, the state-owned nuclear group, owned Westinghouse from 1999 to 2006.

Mr Tritch said that he was impressed by the commitment given to new nuclear stations in the UK by John Hutton, the Secretary of State for Business. “Since the energy White Paper came out, he has given a very clear message that there is opportunity here,” he said.

Mr Tritch urged the Government to narrow its choice of reactor design from four to three or two quickly. Westinghouse's AP1000 pressurised water reactor design is competing against a design from Canada; a French design from Areva and General Electric-Hitachi's boiling water reactor.

Construction of nuclear power stations in the UK will not start until new reactor designs have been licensed, although all of the six large energy companies have said that they would be interested in participating in a new-build programme.

Mr Tritch said that he had no concerns that Nicolas Sarkozy, the French President, was working to stitch up a deal with the British Government, which would favour Areva. “We welcome governments striking agreements as long as there is reasonable competition in the market,” he said.

President Sarkozy is hoping to discuss greater industrial co-operation on nuclear energy and defence when he meets Gordon Brown.

The two leaders are expected to sign an agreement designed to pave the way for the construction of a new generation of UK nuclear power plants using French know-how.

They are discussing a plan to allow greater information sharing regarding new French reactor designs that could be used to build the UK plants. The agreement is also expected to help the two countries to market nuclear technology jointly overseas.

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