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The red iPhone battery symbol is enough to strike fear into the heart of smartphone addicts everywhere.

But now scientists claim they have found a way to make batteries last up to 30 per cent longer - using nothing but thin air.

The technology takes the form of an iPhone 6 case which transforms the microwave energy of radio frequencies into useable electricity.

Scientists claim they have found a way to make batteries last up to 30 per cent longer - using nothing but thin air. The technology takes the form of an iPhone 6 case which transforms the microwave energy of radio frequencies into useable electricity

It is a variation of a technology known as a rectenna or 'rectifying antenna'.

Similar gadgets are already available that are capable of pulling power out of the air near broadcast towers, but these usually generate too little power to be of any use.

The latest gadget is the invention of Nikola Labs who is working with Ohio State University, according to an announcement at the TechCrunch Disrupt Conference in New York.

Together, the groups plan to start a Kickstarter project that will commercialise the device later this year, with an initial selling price of $99.

The rectenna case generates electricity by using the energy is wasted by the phone when receiving and sending out radio frequency wireless signals.

These can include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and the LTE signals for 4G connections.

According to Nikola Labs co-founder Dr Rob Lee, a former chair of Ohio State University's Electrical and Computer Engineering department, around 90 per cent of the energy a smartphone outputs to maintain voice and data connections is lost into the air.

According to Nikola Labs co-founder Dr Rob Lee, a former chair of Ohio State University's Electrical and Computer Engineering department, around 90 per cent of the energy a smartphone outputs to maintain voice and data connections is lost into the air

Other features listed on Nikola Labs' site include an extra layer of protection, an RF harvesting antenna, a signal strength indicator and an RF-DC converter. 

The company has not revealed whether using this 'wasted' energy would reduce the signal quality of the phone.

But it did say that if everything goes to plan, it may diversify into using the technology for low-power mobile devices such as sensors and medical systems.