HYDRA Hydration Plant with Ascending Surveillance Drone (Oil on canvas, 160x120cm)
When Germany still strived for complete autonomy and independence of Western influences, coal hydration technology was one of her attempts to realise complete energy independence. Had the hydration plants not been completely eradicated by the end of World War II, their gasoline output would have served Germany’s entire private car fleet well into the 1960’s. The basic idea was alchemist in nature; the hydration plant would consume what the German soil offered in abundance, namely coal, and turn it into petrol, a far more combustible propellant, much better suited for modern warfare or the needs of modern society in general. One wonders how the concept could have been so completely discouraged that it never resurfaced. This experimental simplified hydration plant was codenamed “Hydra” in honour of the Lernaean Hydra of Greek mythology, an ancient nameless serpent-like chthonic water beast. This painting (c) 2017 by Torsten Slama
GPTU - 33 / IPP World Wide 