"With the start of the industrial production of acetaldehyde by acetylene hydration in 1916, acetylene became one of the most important raw materials for coal-based chemistry in the first half of the 20th century. However, the move from coal chemistry to petrochemistry made ethylene and propylene incomparably more important than acetylene.[…] Conversions starting with acetylene are rather underdeveloped compared with many other fields in catalysis, which offers the possibility for significant improvement by applying modern concepts, new materials, and state-of-the-art process technology. In order to reduce our society’s dependence on oil-derived feedstocks, acetylene could serve as a platform molecule that can be transformed into various base chemicals. This should not be seen as a step back to coal chemistry but rather a step toward a diversified chemical industry where acetylene is a valuable molecule that can be selectively transformed to materials guaranteeing our prosperity."