PM open to nuclear if economics stack-up

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says he's open to the idea of nuclear power if research emerges showing it stacks up economically.

Nuclear power has been banned in Australia since 1998, but Mr Morrison says he would consider lifting the ban if research proved it could be done on a commercial basis and bring power prices down.

"I'm totally open to that work," he told Sky News on Tuesday.

"But what we need to do is make sure it can stack up and we can successfully move in that direction."

Mr Morrison said the source of Australia's energy doesn't bother him and he isn't interested in an ideological debate.

"What matters is that it's reliable, it can be contracted, it can be priced at lower than what we're getting currently, because that's what brings people's power prices down."