Chinese scientists announced on January 3, 2011 that breakthroughs have been made in nuclear fuel reprocessing technology, which is expected to effectively end any worries about uranium supply. The technology developed by China's National Nuclear Energy Corporation allows radioactive nuclear fuel to be reused.
According to reports, China's proven uranium resources can only last for 50 to 70 years, but this change can now be used for 3,000 years. This development will be an important step for China to increase the share of alternative sources of power in its energy mix, reduce pollution, and achieve energy security. Investing in nuclear power will help reduce CO2 emissions and reduce China’s heavy reliance on pollution-causing coal, which accounts for 70% of China’s electricity demand.
After China surpassed Japan in 2010, it is now the second largest economy in the world. The goal is to generate 15% of electricity from renewable energy sources by 2020. China’s goal is to increase its installed nuclear power capacity to 70-80GW by 2020, which will account for approximately 5% of the country’s total installed power generation capacity. The government stated that the previous goal was 40 GW. China currently produces about 750 tons/year of uranium, but as the output of nuclear power increases, the annual uranium demand is expected to increase to 20,000 tons in 2020.