Startup debuts technology that pulls electricity out of the air

Transmission of electricity over wires was pioneered by Nikola Tesla. Heinrich Hertz proved that it could be done wirelessly, regardless of which we still use 19 century technology to power 21 century devices.

Nikola Labs, a startup which was chosen as a wildcard choice at Techcrunch’s Startup Alley, launched a device which converts radio frequencies into DC power and therefore can power devices, according to the company.

They launched their first product that uses the technology today – an iPhone 6 case. It converts the wasted 90% of energy the phone produces when it tries to dish out a cellphone signal, and puts it back into the phone, thereby powering the phone for about 30% longer.

This however is not a traditional battery in the real sense of it, it just works passively. Basically, it is harvesting back all the ambient RF energy already being produced by the phone.

The company aims to bring the product into the market within one year, in partnership with the Ohio State University. The technology was originally developed at the university and the patents and technologies are also licensed from there.

The sales will be launching on Kickstarter at $99, and they hope to ship inside the first four months.