diff --git a/cmake/CMakeLists.txt b/cmake/CMakeLists.txt
index f6f822676e..601aa4b7c4 100644
--- a/cmake/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/cmake/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -670,6 +670,12 @@ if(PKG_USER-VTK)
 endif()
 
 if(PKG_KIM)
+  find_package(CURL)
+  if(CURL_FOUND)
+    include_directories(${CURL_INCLUDE_DIRS}) 
+    list(APPEND LAMMPS_LINK_LIBS ${CURL_LIBRARIES})
+    add_definitions(-DLMP_KIM_CURL)
+  endif()
   option(DOWNLOAD_KIM "Download KIM-API v2 from OpenKIM instead of using an already installed one" OFF)
   if(DOWNLOAD_KIM)
     message(STATUS "KIM-API v2 download requested - we will build our own")