The Max Planck Institute for Coal Research is an institute located in Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany specializing in chemical research on catalysis. It is one of the 80 institutes in the Max Planck Society (Max-Planck-Gesellschaft). Founded in 1912 as the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Coal Research (Kaiser-Wilhelm-Institut für Kohlenforschung) in Mülheim an der Ruhr to study the chemistry and uses of coal, it became an independent Max Planck Institute in 1949.