In Germany, there is increasing opposition to coal power generation and the utilization of coal. This also has implications for coal research, and could eventually lead to an irreversible loss of know-how. Adverse consequences for the sustainable improvement in the efficiency of coal technologies may thereby result. The research on societal acceptance of coal in the German Centre for Energy Resources has led to contra-intuitive insights. In this contribution, an overview of the research program will be provided, selected results are presented, and the implications of the findings discussed.