Higher power USB-C will deliver 240W

Today’s USB-C charging can support up to 100 watts. But that’s not enough for all gaming laptops and other power-hungry devices. There seems to be real need for more USB power because some manufacturers have sold off-spec 130W USB-C adapters. The new standard capacity of 240 watts is enough to run larger monitors, printers, gaming laptops and other devices.

The USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) has just announced that it’s more than doubling the amount of power you can send over a USB-C cable from 100W to 240 watts.
https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2021/5/25/22453936/usb-c-power-delivery-extended-power-range-epr

The USB-C Release 2.1 spec more than doubles the power output of the all-in-one cable.

The USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) has just announced that it’s more than doubling the amount of power you can send over a USB-C cable to 240 watts. This is something that the USB-IF is calling “Extended Power Range” or EPR for short.

This means you’ll eventually be able to plug in the same kind of multipurpose USB-C cable you currently use on lightweight laptops, tablets, and phones to charge all but the beefiest gaming laptops (which will still need an ugly barrel jack and a proprietary power brick to charge).

You’ll need new USB-C chargers and cables to take advantage of the new spec, of course. A cable will need to support up to 5A and 50V to be compliant.

This gives the hint that the extra power capability is made possible by increasing the supplt voltage. 5A*48V=240W. In addition to higher voltage I expect some extension to the USB power delivery device handshaking specifications to reliably tell when this higher voltage is appropriate, because sending 48V to an older device expecting 20V 5A maximum would most propably fry it.

Stephen Shankland / CNET:
USB standards body unveils its USB-C 2.1 revision, which supports power up to 240W, up from 100W currently, aimed at devices like 4K displays and gaming laptops — An upgrade to the USB-C standard will accommodate levels of up to 240 watts, an improvement that could let you plug power-hungry devices …
https://www.cnet.com/news/usb-c-upgrade-delivers-a-whopping-240w-for-gaming-laptops-and-other-power-hungry-devices/

An upgrade to the USB-C standard will accommodate levels of up to 240 watts, an improvement that could let you plug power-hungry devices like gaming laptops, 4K monitors and printers into the universal port.

The USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF), the industry group that develops the technology, revealed the new power levels in the version 2.1 update to its USB Type-C specification on Tuesday. The new 240-watt option is called Extended Power Range, or EPR.

Cables supporting 240 watts will have additional requirements to accommodate the new levels. And USB-IF will require the cables to bear specific icons “so that end users will be able to confirm visually that the cable supports up to…240W,” USB-IF said in the specification document.

USB Type-C® Cable and Connector Specification Revision 2.1
https://usb.org/document-library/usb-type-cr-cable-and-connector-specification-revision-21

The USB-C specification isn’t the only one covering how USB ports and cables work. Today’s mainstream USB 3.2 and brand-new USB 4 govern how data is sent over cables. But USB 4 is rare, just arriving now in newer laptops.