Toshiba Corp., Hitachi Ltd. and General Electric Co. of the United States have agreed to jointly develop a high-powered nuclear reactor that would require only half the development costs needed for conventional reactors, company sources said.

Toshiba and Hitachi, both based in Tokyo, and GE, based in Fairfield, Conn., will share design data and split work for the development of an improved version of an advanced boiling water reactor, the sources said.

Through such efforts, the firms hope to keep the development cost of the new reactor to somewhere between 25 billion yen and 30 billion yen -- about half that of the current version.

The reactor will generate 1.7 million kw, 30 percent more than a conventional reactor, the sources said.

The price should remain competitive against thermal power generation plants that use petroleum even if crude oil prices fall below $20 per barrel, the sources said.

The companies hope to win contracts from power companies despite the increasingly negative stance toward nuclear power not only in Europe and the U.S. but also in Taiwan, which last year decided to terminate the construction of a fourth nuclear power station, the sources said.

Last year, the three companies established a joint holding company to develop and manufacture fuels for nuclear power stations.

The sources said the firms may eventually integrate their nuclear power-related businesses.