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Max Planck Institute for Coal Research

Logo: kofo.mpg.de4

Research institute in Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany

The Max Planck Institute for Coal Research (German: Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung, MPI KoFo) is an institute located in Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany specializing in chemical research on catalysis. It is one of the 86 institutes in the Max Planck Society (Max-Planck-Gesellschaft). It was founded in 1912 in Mülheim an der Ruhr as the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Coal Research (Kaiser-Wilhelm-Institut für Kohlenforschung) to study the chemistry and uses of coal, and became an independent Max Planck Institute in 1949.2 It employed 350 people.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1912Founded1
  • Industryresearch and development1
  • HeadquartersMülheim an der Ruhr, Germany1
  • Websitewww.kofo.mpg.de
  • Legal formprivate foundation1
  • Kind of organizationNonprofit organization1
  • LEI529900VSKRPAGWX1U0813
  • StatusActive3
  • LEI statusIssued and current3
  • Registered addressKaiser-Wilhelm-Platz 1, 45470 Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany3
  • Registered withMinistry of the Interior of North Rhine-Westphalia3

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MPI MH II
Photo: Omi´s Törtchen, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons6

The Max Planck Institute for Coal Research (German: Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung, MPI KoFo) is an institute located in Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany specializing in chemical research on catalysis. It is one of the 86 institutes in the Max Planck Society (Max-Planck-Gesellschaft). It was founded in 1912 in Mülheim an der Ruhr as the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Coal Research (Kaiser-Wilhelm-Institut für Kohlenforschung) to study the chemistry and uses of coal, and became an independent Max Planck Institute in 1949.2

Corporate structure

Max Planck Institute for Coal Research is part of a group headed by Max Planck Society. 101 entities, 5 countries on record. Switch between the flow chart and the network, and select any entity to see its details.

  • Max Planck Society München, Germany
    • Max Planck Institute for Coal Research Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany
    • Max Planck Innovation Subsidiary · Munich, Germany
    • Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research Subsidiary
    • Max Planck Institute for Legal History and Legal Theory Subsidiary
    • Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research Subsidiary · Göttingen
    • Max Planck Institute for the History of Science Subsidiary · Berlin
    • Minerva Stiftung Subsidiary · Stadtbergen, Germany
    • Bibliotheca Hertziana – Max Planck Institute for Art History Subsidiary · Rome, Italy
    • CENOBIUM Subsidiary
    • Center of Advanced European Studies and Research Subsidiary · Germany
    • Ernst Strüngmann Institute Subsidiary · Germany
    • Friedrich Miescher Lab Subsidiary · Tübingen, Germany
    • Fritz Haber Institute of the MPG Subsidiary · Berlin, Germany
    • German Climate Computing Centre Subsidiary · Hamburg, Germany
    • Halbleiterlabor of the Max-Planck-Society Subsidiary · Munich, Germany
    • Institut de radioastronomie millimétrique Subsidiary · Saint-Martin-d'Hères, France
    • Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz Subsidiary · Florence, Italy
    • Max Planck Computing and Data Facility Subsidiary · Garching bei München, Germany
    • Max Planck Florida Institute Subsidiary · Jupiter, United States
    • Max Planck Foundation for International Peace and the Rule of Law Subsidiary · Germany
    • Max Planck Institute for Astronomy Subsidiary · Heidelberg, Germany
    • Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics Subsidiary · Garching bei München, Germany
    • Max Planck Institute for Behavioral Economics Subsidiary · Bonn, Germany
    • Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry Subsidiary · Jena, Germany
    • Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics Subsidiary · Tübingen, Germany
    • and 81 more

Built from parent and subsidiary links from GLEIF, the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (CC0); subsidiaries, stakes and holdings from Wikidata (CC0). Each entity in the chart links to its source.

Products and brands

Research

The Institute carries out basic research in organic and organometallic chemistry, in homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis as well as in theoretical chemistry. The principal aim is to develop new methods for the selective and environmentally benign preparation of new compounds and materials.

The MPI KoFo has been at the forefront of research in chemistry since its formation. One of these is the development of the Fischer–Tropsch process through the efforts of Franz Fischer and Hans Tropsch in 1925 when the institute was still organized as the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Institut für Kohlenforschung. Nobel Prize laureate Karl Ziegler also worked at the institute alongside his former student Hans-Georg Gellert to discover the aufbau reaction (Aufbaureaktion) or growth reaction among aluminum alkyl compounds.

Research Departments

Organic synthesis

Research in the Organic Synthesis Department, led by Tobias Ritter, focuses on the development of organic synthesis and novel reaction chemistry. It seeks to discover molecular structure and reactivity that can contribute to interdisciplinary solutions for challenges in science.

Homogeneous catalysis

The Homogeneous Catalysis Department, led by Nobel Prize laureate Benjamin List, focuses on the development of new catalysis concepts within the areas of organocatalysis, transition metal catalysis, and, to some extent, biocatalysis. Since 1999, the group concentrates on enantioselective organocatalysis as a fundamental approach complementing biocatalysis and transition metal catalysis. They have a profound interest in developing “new reactions”, designing and identifying new principles for the development of organocatalysts, expanding the scope of already developed catalysts such as proline, using organocatalysis in the synthesis of natural products and pharmaceuticals, and also investigating the mechanism by which organocatalysts activate their substrates. Furthermore, in 2005 the department has first conceptualized another approach to asymmetric catalysis, namely Asymmetric Counteranion-Directed Catalysis (ACDC). This idea has not only progressed within the department but also at other institutions around the globe into a general strategy for asymmetric synthesis applied in organocatalysis as well as in transition metal catalysis and Lewis acid catalysis.

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Heterogeneous catalysis

The Heterogeneous Catalysis Department, led by Ferdi Schüth, is concentrated on the synthesis and characterization of inorganic materials with an application focus in heterogeneous catalysis. Especially important are high surface area materials with controlled porosity and nanostructured catalysts. Reactions studied include model reactions, such as carbon monoxide oxidation, and energy relevant conversions, i.e. methane activation, biomass conversion, ammonia decomposition and catalyzed hydrogen storage. This research is supported by studies into the fundamental processes governing solids formation.

Organometallic chemistry

The Organometallic Chemistry Department, led by Alois Fürstner, is focused on the development and understanding of organometallic reagents and catalysts, as well as on their application to the synthesis of structurally complex targets of biological significance. Particular attention is paid to the development and validation of catalytic methods for Carbon–carbon bond formation. Long-term projects of current interest concern alkene and alkyne metathesis, the development and use of pi-acids (platinum, gold etc.), iron catalysis and cross coupling in general. Moreover, the group is engaged in the development of novel donor ligands, including carbenes and compounds containing formally "zerovalent" carbon atoms. All methods are scrutinized by applications to the total synthesis and "diverted total synthesis" of natural products and pharmaceutically active compounds.

Theoretical chemistry

The Department of Molecular Theory and Spectroscopy, led by Frank Neese, focuses on theoretical developments that extend the scope of computational methodology, especially for large molecules, and applies theoretical methods to study specific chemical problems, mostly in close cooperation with experimental partners. The activities of the group cover a broad methodological spectrum such as ab initio methods, density functional theory, semiempirical methods and combined quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical methods.

From Wikipedia’s article on Max Planck Institute for Coal Research, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5

Subsidiaries and ownership

Parent company

From Wikidata.1

Acquisitions

  1. Succeeded Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Coal Research1

Timeline

  1. 1948Renamed Name changed to Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung1
  2. 1912Founded Founded1

Sources

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