The Institute of Coal Chemistry (ICC) is a high-tech R&D institute affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). ICC conducts basic and applied research primarily in the fields of energy and the environment, advanced materials and green chemistry. ICC was founded in Dalian as the CAS Laboratory of Coal Chemistry in 1954. In 1961, the laboratory moved to Taiyuan, Shanxi and assumed its current name as part of its expansion. Since its foundation, ICC has developed from a small laboratory with a staff of 64 into a comprehensive national institution, which is highly influential both at home and abroad. ICC now has a staff of 583, of which 453 are scientific and technological personnel, including one CAS academician and 183 senior scientists. In addition, ICC has two National Thousand Talents Program fellows and 10 CAS Hundred Talents Program fellows. ICC’s strategic and farsighted research aims to optimize coal use as well as commercialize new and high technologies in its three core research areas. In the process, ICC seeks to develop quality talent, help the nation meet its energy needs and promote sustainable development. Headquartered in Taiyuan, the capital of Shanxi Province, ICC has four national-level R&D units: the State Key Laboratory of Coal Conversion, the State Engineering Laboratory of Indirect Coal Liquefaction, the State Engineering Laboratory of Carbon Fiber Preparation and the Shanxi International Research Center of Coal Chemical Engineering and Technology. It also is home to the CAS Key Laboratory of Carbon Materials and the provincial-level Engineering Research Center for Pulverized Coal Gasification. In addition, ICC has a sound support system comprising its Strategy Study and Engineering Consulting Center, Chemical Engineering Process Design Center, Environmental Impact Assessment Center, Analytical Instrumentation Center and Literature and Computer Network Center.