Ratan Tata’s next venture might just be building a car that runs on water.According to the Chairman of the Scientific Advisory  Council to the Prime Minister, Prof C N R Rao, the Tata Group Chairman has invested USD 15 million in a start up venture which is conducting research in that field.

 Speaking at a press conference conducted by the Chemical Research Society of India (CRSI) on Friday, Rao said that his friend, a professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology had managed to discover a way to split water into molecules of hydrogen and oxygen.

“Ratan Tata has given him USD 15 million so that he (Tata) can own that company when it comes up. He wants to invest in a company which will split water directly into hydrogen and oxygen,” Rao shared.

He mentioned that any kind of water, be it toilet water, rain water or sea water could be used for producing energy if they could be split into hydrogen and oxygen. He further said that both Ratan Tata and he dreamt that cars would eventually run on water.

The year 2011 has been declared as the International Year of Chemistry by the United Nations and CRSI has planned a wide range of activities in India. This would include holding chemistry demonstrations for students, organising workshops of chemistry teachers all over the country, establishing and awarding prizes for chemistry teachers at graduate and post-graduate levels and popularising achievements of chemistry.

The CRSI would undertake printing of materials for free distribution (under-graduate and post-graduate levels) -- periodic table and physical constants being used in chemistry for ready-reckoning and others.

Prof Rao will inaugurate the IYC 2011 on Saturday. On the occasion, C N R Rao Education Foundation has instituted an award with CRSI, ‘C N R Rao National Prize for Chemical Research’, to be given away annually from 2011.