Born in Vigo (Galicia, Spain), Dr. Marcial Fernández Castro holds a B.S. degree in Physics from the University of Santiago de Compostela (2014), an M.S. in Energy and Sustainability from the University of Vigo, and an M.S. in Material Science from the University of Seville (2016).

Dr. Fernández Castro began his professional career as a research assistant at IMN-CSIC in Madrid (2017–2018), where he co-authored three peer-reviewed publications. There, he worked with sputtering fabrication techniques and gained expertise in several characterization techniques such as electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy or contact-angle measurements.

In 2018, he pursued a PhD at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), focusing on the roll-processing of Organic Solar Cells and addressing the upscaling challenges in this technology. His research involved various fabrication techniques, including slot-die coating, spin-coating, flexographic printing, screen-printing, and thermal evaporation. He also gained expertise in characterization methods such as quantum efficiency, I-V measurements under simulated light, stability testing in climatic chambers, and X-ray scattering techniques. During his PhD, he gained hands-on experience with synchrotron radiation facilities, including a week at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) in Switzerland. His PhD thesis, titled "Roll-processing of Organic Solar Cells with Optimal Morphology," was successfully defended in February 2022. As main author, he published four scientific papers and contributed to several others.

Following his PhD, Dr. Fernández Castro joined CIC energiGUNE (2022–2024) as a postdoctoral researcher in the Cell Prototyping group, shifting his focus to Energy Storage technologies, specifically working with batteries and supercapacitors.

Currently, Dr. Fernández Castro works as a Researcher at TECNALIA, where he focuses on the design, development, and characterization of photovoltaic modules. Additionally, he is involved in the elaboration and management of different projects.