USB-C gains support for 240W charging via Power Delivery

The USB Implementers Forum has released revision 2.1 of the USB-C specification, adding the Extended Power Range for charging via USB Power Delivery. Charging is possible with a maximum of 240 watts. Now that is a maximum of 100 watts.

With Extended Power Range, USB Power Delivery can be configured with voltages from 28V to 48V, at 5A current, according to version 2.1 of the USB-C specification. Currently, that is a maximum of 20V at 5A. EPR allows charging with 140 to 240 watts over USB-C, something that could be used for gaming laptops, for example. USB-C chargers are currently not suitable for gaming laptops, because they often consume more than 100W. As a result, the batteries of such laptops drain slowly while they are on the charger during use.

Using EPR requires new chargers and new cables. Cables are marked with both an optical and electronic marking to indicate that they are suitable for EPR. To meet this requirement, they must be able to handle a voltage of up to 50V. The electronic marking ensures that charging with 240W will only take place if the cable is actually suitable for it.

According to the specification revision, it is intended that all USB-C cables that can handle a current of 5A will also support EPR. Cables that can only handle the Standard Power Range are being phased out. It is not yet known when products will be released that can handle the updated USB-C charging specification.