100-watt USB 3.0 will put an end to proprietary chargers

The consortium, which includes representatives of Intel, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft and ST-Erricson, announced the readiness of a new specification of the transfer of energy via USB, through which it is possible to transfer 100 watts per connection.

The new standard will greatly simplify the charging and powering of numerous devices, including laptops and small desktops, external hard drives, printers, and will also provide the ability to transfer up to 5 Gbps. The group hopes that the cable and connectors of the new standard will help eliminate proprietary chargers, which means not only user-friendliness, but also a reduction in the amount of electrical waste.

The standard is an addition to USB 2.0 and 3.0, fully backwards compatible with previous versions. In November 2008, the USB 3.0 specification was first released, and since then, the group that has been developing and promoting it has continuously worked to improve the standard, reflecting on the functions important to the end user.
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According to the new standard, the cable will transmit significantly more power. For comparison, USB 2.0 transmits up to 2.5 watts, USB 3.0 - up to 3.5 watts. USB Power Delivery allows a switchable power source without changing the direction of the cable and has six power modes, between which there is a smart switch right on the fly under the control of the Device Policy Manager. There is also support for the Battery Charge 1.2 specification.

Profile 1 can transmit 2 A to 5 V, profile 2 to 2A / 5B or 1.5A / 12B, profile 3 to 2A / 5B or 3A / 12B, profile 4 to 3A / 20B, and profile 5 reaches the upper limit of 100 watts - 5A / 12B or 5A / 20B. No more than 3 A can be transferred via microUSB connectors. Profile 0 is reserved.



Power transfer will require special certified USB Power Delivery cables. The specification includes a mechanism for checking cable capabilities and configuration of connections, because passing no-name cables with 100 watts of power is a rather risky and fire-hazardous task.

It is possible to imagine many scenarios for the use of the new standard: a laptop connected to the household electrical grid, charging the battery of another device. After disconnecting the external power supply, the laptop on the move can go into a more benign mode, generally stop feeding the external device or vice versa, start taking energy from it.

Brad Sununder, a member of the USB 3.0 promotion group, hopes to help reduce the amount of electronics that are thrown out annually by introducing a single universal charger on the market to the specification they offer (recall Steve Wozniak's shoulder baggage ). However, it remains an open question whether more incomparable companies will realize the specification of a new connection.