Although the iPhone 5, or new iPhone hasn’t surfaced yet, it appears some are looking towards next years iPhone, the iPhone 6 for the want of a better name, or one could call it the new, new iPhone. Anyway the latest word is that the iPhone 6 could possibly pack a new slimmer eco-friendly battery rather than the lithium-ion battery.

According to an article over on PC Advisor, apparently NEC have developed a 0.3mm organic battery that has the same capacity as lithium-ion rechargeable batteries that are used on mobile phones, but without the harmful elements found in lithium-ion batteries.

Apparently these new batteries are called Organic Radical Batteries, or ORBs, and are generally used with electronic paper, RF tags, IC cards and such, however International Business Times is reporting that these Organic Radical Batteries are expected to be used in the iPhone 6.

Apple has already done a great deal to reduce their environmental footprint, such as removing any toxic materials from their production line, and lithium-ion batteries are deemed environmentally safe for landfill, but if Apple could incorporate the new ORBs into next year’s new iPhone then it would be even more eco-friendly.

Currently iPhone shipping packaging is made of recycled fibreboard and bio based materials, whilst the iPhone handset itself has a recyclable aluminum enclosure, and glass, and uses mercury free LCD screens, PVC free materials, Arsenic free display glass and bromide free printed circuit boards.

However of course there is no guarantee that Apple is actually looking into using Organic Radical Batteries in the iPhone 6, so for now all this should be treated purely as rumour.