Beijing, Jan 4 (IANS) China, one of the world's largest energy consumers, has made a technological breakthrough in reprocessing spent nuclear fuel that could extend uranium's usage by 60 times and potentially solve the problem of its short supply.

The technology, which was developed by the No. 404 factory under the China National Nuclear Corp (CNNC), is able to boost the usage rate of uranium material at nuclear plants by 60 times, the China Daily reported.

According to China Central Television (CCTV), the country's existing detected uranium resources can last for 3,000 years with the use of new technology.

China, the world's second largest economy, has more than 170,000 tonnes of detected uranium resources.

"We're among the few countries that can implement the recycling of nuclear fuel. As such, we, to some extent, lead the world in this field," Sun Qin, general manger of CNNC, China's largest nuclear generator, was quoted by CCTV as saying.

The nation has strived to extend the usage rate of the strategically important resource to meet growing demand. The country aims to increase its nuclear power capacity to 40 gigawatts (gW) by 2020 compared to just more than nine gW of nuclear capacity at present.

China has 12 nuclear power plants in operation, with 25 reactors under construction.

Uranium demand in China is expected to reach 20,000 tonnes annually by 2020, according to figures from the World Nuclear Association. But China will be able to produce only 2,400 tonnes of uranium that year.

Extending the usage of existing uranium will help China fulfil its target to cut greenhouse gas emissions per unit of GDP by 40 to 45 percent by 2020 from 2005 levels.

"China has invested heavily in uranium exploration know-how and recycling technology to meet the nation's burgeoning needs and increase the ratio of nuclear energy in the total energy consumption mix," said Lin Boqiang, director of the China Center for Energy Economics Research at Xiamen University.

He added that such technology, including the recycling of spent nuclear fuel, is still at a very early stage. If it can be put into practical use, then China can be self-sufficient, he said.

Nuclear power accounted for about 2.2 percent of China's electricity generation by the end of 2009. By contrast, of the 30 countries that have nuclear power generators, 16 had 25 percent of their total electricity produced by nuclear power.