LONDON, Oct 2 (Reuters) - Rolls-Royce SMR has passed the first stage of a UK government competition to select developers of small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs), the company said on Monday, signalling a huge step for the technology as Britain seeks to boost its energy capacity.

Rolls-Royce, whose main business is making engines for large passenger jets, is the only company whose SMR technology is under review by European regulators.

SMRs can be built more quickly for less than large-scale reactors, with parts small enough to be transported on trucks and barges.

"Securing a domestic contract is vitally important to unlock the enormous global export potential of our clean energy technology," Rolls-Royce SMR CEO Chris Cholerton said in a statement.

The SMR competition was first announced in March, with the process overseen by Great British Nuclear, a governmental body set up to help ramp up UK's nuclear capacity to as much as 24GW by 2050.

The selected companies will start negotiations with the government, which will make a final decision in 2029, subject to approval by Britain's Office for Nuclear Regulation.

(Reporting by Farouq Suleiman; Editing by Richard Chang)