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Our country has developed a set of technologies for producing ethylene glycol from coal on a scale of 10,000 tons. Relying on more than 20 years of technical expertise, the Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with enterprises, has successfully developed such a technology set for the gas-phase catalytic synthesis of oxalates from CO and the catalytic hydrogenation of oxalates to produce ethylene glycol (referred to as \"ethylene glycol production from coal\"). On March 18, this complete set of technologies passed the achievement appraisal organized by the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Danyang, Jiangsu Province, where it was implemented. The experts on the appraisal committee unanimously agreed that this achievement marks China’s leadership in the world in realizing a complete set of technologies for \"coal-to-ethylene glycol\" production as well as their industrial application; it is a world-first technology with independent intellectual property rights. The promotion and application of this technology will effectively alleviate the supply-demand imbalance of ethylene glycol products in our country, have a significant positive impact on the energy and chemical industries, and possess important scientific significance, outstanding technological innovation, as well as notable social and economic benefits. “\"Coal-based ethylene glycol\" refers to the production of ethylene glycol using coal instead of petroleum ethylene. Experts point out that such a technical approach is in line with China’s resource profile, characterized by a shortage of oil and gas and relatively abundant coal resources. This achievement, resulting from long-term basic research, applied research, and industrialization, is backed by multiple technical patents and independent intellectual property rights ； This set of technologies conforms to the three principles of the circular economy. Its notable feature is that it uses industrial-grade CO, NO, H2, O2, and alcohols as raw materials, which is highly advantageous for the development of a large-scale industry. Following on-site inspections by experts from the appraisal committee, it was determined that the 10,000-ton industrial testing facility operates stably and meets the requirements for further development into a large-scale industrial production facility. Since 1982, through years of preliminary research, the Fujian Institute of Physical Chemistry has developed a series of patented technologies with full independent intellectual property rights as well as catalyst-related technical secrets. Since 2005, the institute has joined forces with Jiangsu Danhua Group Co., Ltd. and Shanghai Jinmei New Chemical Technology Co., Ltd. to officially launch the industrialization project of \"CO gas-phase catalytic synthesis of oxalates and catalytic hydrogenation of oxalates to produce ethylene glycol\". This research and development has received strong support from the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Fujian Province. After more than 3 years of effort, the design and construction of an industrial demonstration plant for producing ethylene glycol from coal on a scale of 10,000 tons were successfully completed. The plant was brought online, the entire production process was operational, and it operated stably for over 1,000 hours. (China Catalysis Network http://www.catsina.com)