Matthijs Soede studied at the Delft University of Technology and has a PhD in Chemical Engineering. He began his career at the Ministry of Economic Affairs in the Netherlands, as specialist in international research cooperation.

In 2008 he joined the European Commission in DG Research and Innovation as policy officer in Industrial Technologies and moved in 2012 to Clean Energy Transitions being responsible for offshore renewables.

He is a member of the IEA Renewable Energy Working Party, and since 2023 Chair of the executive committee of the IEA Technology Collaboration Programme on Ocean Energy Systems.