Marta Ugalde Martínez will take over from Ignacio Araluce, who has campaigned to keep reactors online
Marta Ugalde Martínez has been appointed president of the Madrid-based industry group Foro Nuclear.
Martínez, who until now has been director of nuclear oversight and international coordination at Almaraz-Trillo Nuclear Power Plants and has also worked for the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO), will serve as president of Foro Nuclear for the next two years, with the possibility of extending her mandate for successive terms. She succeeds Ignacio Araluce.
Martínez is a nuclear engineer from the Polytechnic University of Madrid and holder of a General Management Program from IESE Business School in Barcelona. She has more than 25 years of experience in the nuclear sector.
At Almaraz-Trillo Nuclear Power Plants she held senior positions in nuclear oversight and corporate governance. At WANO she chaired the nuclear industry representatives group composed of 21 organisations from 16 countries across three continents. She also served on the advisory committee to the nuclear business directors at WANO Paris.
Martínez said: “We are at a decisive moment. Nuclear energy has proven to be an essential pillar in addressing major global challenges, providing an affordable source of energy that brings stability to the system and guarantees energy supply while demonstrating extraordinary climate and geopolitical resilience.
“We will continue to promote the leadership of the Spanish nuclear sector and work to ensure the continued operation of our nuclear power plants.”
Spain is planning to decommission all of its seven commercial nuclear power reactors by 2035.
Outgoing Foro Nuclear president Araluce said last year that nuclear power is needed to stabilise Spain’s electrical system and the country should rethink its planned phaseout following the unprecedented blackout that recently affected the Iberian Peninsula in April 2025.
