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On January 19-20, the Shanxi Coal Chemistry Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences held a grand meeting to report on its scientific research activities for the year 2025. The meeting aims to comprehensively summarize the annual research work and outline the development plan for the 15th Five-Year Plan period. Members of the leadership team, committee members of the academic committee, heads of research groups, key researchers, staff from administrative support departments, and postgraduate students attended the presentation meeting in both offline and online formats. The reporting sessions were chaired respectively by Zhang Shouchun, the deputy director and head of the Academic Committee; Fan Weibin, the deputy head of the Academic Committee; and Wen Xiaodong, a member of the Academic Committee and head of the National Key Laboratory for Efficient and Low-Carbon Utilization of Coal. At the meeting, the heads of various project teams focused on the development objectives and reported on key tasks, the talent pool, achievements, technological innovation, etc. They emphasized the development strategies and plans for the 15th Five-Year Plan period, and also provided reports on their integrity. The report contains detailed data and notable highlights, demonstrating fully the solid achievements and forward-thinking approaches of the institute’s researchers over the past year in addressing the critical needs related to **energy transition and key materials for national defense. The evaluation team posed precise questions and provided in-depth comments regarding the current development status and plans, and offered constructive guidance on strengthening organized research, promoting interdisciplinary collaboration, and enhancing the systematic nature and impact of research outcomes. 2025 is the final year of the 14th Five-Year Plan and also the year when plans are laid out for the 15th Five-Year Plan. Over the past year, the Shanxi Coal Chemistry Research Institute has continued to fulfill its role as a key force in strategic scientific and technological development. It has strived to seize leadership in scientific and technological fields, systematically planned for development during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, and worked together to overcome various challenges. Significant achievements have been made in areas such as basic research, applied research, and high-tech research, thereby pushing the institute’s scientific and technological innovation efforts to new heights. The capacity to undertake **tasks continues to improve. For the first time, it took the lead in undertaking major scientific and technological tasks such as the Coal 2030 Initiative, \"Two Key\" construction projects, and Class B pilot projects. The development of high-level platforms is progressing steadily. Further efforts have been made to advance the development of national key laboratories; the International R&D Center for Low-Carbon Conversion and Circular Utilization of Coal was approved for establishment, and a laboratory-level scientific data center as well as an intelligent research platform for the conversion processes of coal resources were set up. High-quality results have emerged, achieving simultaneous improvement in both quantity and quality. Original breakthroughs have been achieved in fundamental research. Precise control of trace halogens in the Fischer-Tropsch reaction has led to a major breakthrough: near-zero CO₂ emissions (below 1%) and high-efficiency olefin production (over 85%), with the findings published in Science. The research achievements in methanol catalytic conversion won the First Prize in Shanxi Province’s Natural Science Awards, while two other achievements, namely the precise control of the catalytic interface structure and the advanced oxidation of organic wastewater, received the Second Prize in the same category. Significant breakthroughs have been achieved in engineering demonstration projects. The first-phase 200-ton/year demonstration project for high-performance T1000 carbon fiber at the thousand-ton level has been successfully put into operation, providing strong support for the upgrading of high-end equipment. The independently developed property database software has been applied in the energy and chemical industries, helping to break the monopoly of foreign commercial software. The achievements resulting from the participation in the projects \"Development of Key Technologies for Low-Energy CO₂ Capture, Utilization, and Sequestration\" and \"Key Technologies and Applications for Integrated CO₂ Filling and Sequestration in Coal Mining Areas\" have passed the technical appraisal conducted by the China Coal Industry Association. For the first time in China, the production technology for non-impregnated nuclear graphite has been overcome, enabling batch trial production and providing the necessary foundation for scaling up the process. In his concluding speech, Party Secretary Cai Changta affirmed the hard work and progress made by the institute’s researchers and management staff over the past year. Looking ahead to the 15th Five-Year Plan period, he emphasized the need to rely on high-quality party building to drive high-quality development; everyone in the institution must set more ambitious strategic goals and take it upon themselves to fulfill the mission of meeting **major strategic needs. He emphasized the need to strengthen the Party’s overall leadership over scientific and technological endeavors, to promote open cooperation, and to change the situation where only a few people engage in exchanges while the majority remain focused on their own work. By taking an active approach, it is necessary to actively expand and integrate into broader networks of cooperation. On behalf of the leadership team, Director Fang Yitian expressed his sincere gratitude to all the staff of the institute for their hard work and outstanding contributions over the past year, and highly commended the significant achievements made by various project teams as well as their thoughtful considerations for future development. He systematically outlined five key considerations to guide the future development of the research institute: First, perseverance – taking coal-to-oil and carbon fiber as examples, it is only by persevering in core areas over the long term with unwavering commitment that one can seize opportunities and secure a successful future. Second is innovation: it is necessary to keenly grasp the trends of development, proactively conduct technical assessments, and resolutely promote original innovation as well as iterative upgrades. Third is cross-disciplinary collaboration: it is necessary to be bold in breaking through the boundaries of traditional fields, exploring cross-sector applications in areas such as energy, chemicals, and materials, in order to create new sources of growth. Fourth is cooperation: there is an urgent need to establish efficient internal coordination mechanisms to address issues such as redundant research and insufficient exchanges, strengthen substantive cooperation with leading enterprises, universities, and research institutions, and promote the transfer of technology. Fifth is promotion; as the saying goes, \"even the best wine can go unnoticed if it’s in a remote location.\" It is necessary to build confidence, increase efforts in promotion, and enhance the institute’s influence and reputation at both the ** and industry levels. He emphasized that each research group should organize teams to conduct in-depth discussions, formulate a clear five-year development roadmap, focus on developing “flagship products,” and build large-scale platforms and teams, ultimately achieving a research landscape that is both “lofty in ambition and grounded in reality.”