Nikola Labs, a Columbus-based startup yesterday took to the stage at TechCrunch Disrupt in New York to show off an iPhone 6 case it says can extend a phone’s battery life by literally creating energy out of thin air. The company claims its technology converts RF signals like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and LTE into DC power that can provide power to mobile devices wirelessly.

According to Nikola Labs co-founder Dr. Rob Lee, a former chair of Ohio State University’s Electrical and Computer Engineering department, around 90 percent of the energy a smartphone outputs to maintain voice and data connections is lost into the air. The iPhone 6 case captures that energy and converts it into usable power that can extend an iPhone 6’s battery life by as much as 30 percent.

It’s worth noting that the iPhone case is not a battery pack and does not store power and will not recharge a phone once the battery has run down. It trickles the harvested power into the battery slowly and will only result in slower battery depletion.

The RF energy harvesting technology was invented by Dr. Chi-Chih Chen, an Ohio State University College of Engineering Associate Professor. Nikola Labs holds an exclusive license from the university to incorporate the technology into marketable products.

If it works as advertised, the technology has potential applications across a range of devices such as wearable technology, embedded sensors, medical devices and other connected devices.

Nikola Labs will launch its iPhone 6 case via a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter in about a month’s time and the company hopes to ship the completed product around four months after the launch date. Early backers will be able to pick up the magical iPhone 6 case for $99 each.

Screenshot: SiliconANGLE via Nikola Labs