Studsvik AB has convened an extraordinary general meeting for 18 August 2026 in Stockholm with a clear objective: to bring Mats Ladeborn onto its board of directors. The nominations committee is proposing to increase the number of board members from six to seven, adding a figure who has spent more than four decades at the forefront of the global nuclear industry.
Ladeborn’s career spans two of the most significant nuclear fleet construction and management experiences of recent years. As Vice President of Fleet Development at Vattenfall, he oversaw the group’s nuclear operations in Sweden and Germany, with responsibility for nine units, eight companies and around 4,200 employees. He then moved to the UAE, where he served as Enterprise Chief of Nuclear Operations at ENEC, the corporation that operates the Barakah plant: four reactors, one of the largest new nuclear programmes completed anywhere in the world over the past decade. In that role he managed fuel, radioactive waste and research and development, while supporting the transfer of nuclear expertise to Emirati professionals. He chaired a high-level IAEA working group, sat on the governing board of the WANO Paris Centre and served as President of FORATOM, the European nuclear industry association. His track record covers construction, commissioning and large-scale operations across three continents.
The choice of Ladeborn is no coincidence given where Studsvik stands today. In March 2026 the company acquired Kärnfull Next for €6.5 million, adding a dedicated new-build development capability to its established technical services platform. That acquisition gave rise to the ReFirm programme, which aims to develop light-water SMR parks in southern Sweden. In June 2026 Studsvik submitted an application to the Swedish government for state support covering a total capacity of up to approximately 1,400 MWe across its two most advanced sites, Valdemarsvik and Nyköping. The first reactor could enter commercial operation in the second half of the 2030s, subject to permits and commercial conditions. Sweden, which in 2025 established a state financing framework of SEK 220 billion for up to 5,000 MW of new nuclear capacity, has become the market of reference for anyone looking to build.
Ladeborn’s operational experience is regarded as a direct asset for ReFirm at its current stage, as site development, partner selection and regulatory engagement proceed in parallel. Studsvik’s board already includes Julia Pyke CBE, who led the Sizewell C project through to its final investment decision of £38 billion in 2025 and previously contributed to the development of Hinkley Point C. Ladeborn adds to that table an operational perspective shaped by plants already in service, not merely in development. If elected, he is also expected to participate in the board’s long-term incentive programme, with an allocation of up to 7,500 newly issued Hurdle Shares.
Studsvik’s choice of candidate reflects the direction the company intends to take. Technical services to the existing global fleet on one side, new-build development in Sweden on the other: both strategic pillars require operational credibility at the highest level. Ladeborn brings exactly that, built over decades of work on real reactors across three continents. If the ReFirm programme proceeds as planned, his arrival on the board coincides with the phase in which key decisions — on reactor vendor, final site selection and financing structures — will become binding.
