Does a USB-C Power Delivery splitter exist?

Question

Does a USB-C Power Delivery splitter exist?

I’m considering purchasing an Apple 96W USB-C charger, which could Fast-Charge 2-3 devices at one time with that amount of power. The only downside is that it’s designed for the MacBook Pro, so only comes with one USB-C PD port. I’ve seen other, cheap dual-port USB-C PD chargers on resale sites like Amazon and eBay, though these always offer inconsistent wattage (for example: one PD port offers a massive 60W and the other PD port offers a measly 18W) instead of a simple 50/50 like 39W for each of the PD ports in the example dual-port charger, and the cheaper ones don’t last anywhere near as long, with multiple purchases of these unbranded types lasting only months at a time for me (unless I just have very bad luck!).

Therefore a very simple solution to this would be a USB-C PD splitter/hub, with a USB-C male port on one end and two USB-C female ports on the other, which would both provide 50% of the total power from the socket (for example: if the PD socket was 96W, each female PD port in the splitter would provide half of that so 48W - simple!). Below is an image that represents exactly what I need, but another PD lightning bolt would replace the headphone icon.

Image showing the aforementioned USB-C splitter that I desire but where only one port is for charging and the other is for data/audio:

Does this really not exist? I’ve tried looking everywhere but can’t seem to find it! If it doesn’t exist, is there a reason why it can’t?

Answer 1

That kind of splitting would be dangerous and potentially damage devices.

If you need a splitter then buy an active hub. I cannot find any that advertise multiple PD outputs (only pass through for a laptop) and this would likely need a lot of expensive power conversion to handle, see the rest of my answer below.

You would be best off getting a PD power brick with multiple outputs.

Power Delivery is a negotiated connection. Both devices communicate with each other to establish their maximum voltage and current capabilities and not every device can take the same voltage. At the start of the connection both sides expect 5V, then they exchange information and synchronise up to a preferred voltage and power level.

Many mobile phones will negotiate up to 9V from a PD charger, laptops and other devices may work at higher voltages. I know of some that take 15V and some that take 20V.

Plugging in a laptop and then a mobile phone to one of these splitters would mean that the phone would see 20V instead of 9 or even the "default" 5V.

The best case would be that the phone has massively defensive charging circuitry, but I'd be surprised if it could handle 20V for the smaller components used in phones. Most likely it would burn out the charger circuit.

At worst the battery itself would see a far higher voltage than it was ever designed for or protected against and could rupture and potentially explode.

Even if all you plugged in were phones then after the first phone then all devices would see an out-of-specification USB voltage which they did not negotiate and may refuse to work at all.

USB C is a point-to-point cable. Splitters are dangerous and likely banned by the specification.

Answer 2

you should probably just pull a consistent single value from the thunderbolt port and then use something downstream of the port to split your power as needed. See: https://hackaday.com/2019/10/18/usb-power-delivery-for-all-the-things/ (original source here).

Answer 3

Yes, Scan Computers sells a 1.8m USB-C Y-splitter cable with up to 100w power delivery (or up to a total of 98w with two devices).

From the product page:

Product Overview

USB Type-C Y Charging Cable

This Club 3D CAC-1527 USB Type-C cable is a powerful, extra long, cable which enables you to fast charge two Type-C devices simultaneously. When one device is connected, the power delivery will be max 100W. When two devices are connected, max 98W in total. Because of the PPS protocol your batteries will be charged in such a manner that it will increase the life span of your battery.

Features

• Power Delivery up to 100W max.
• Increased battery life span when using PPS.
• Charge two USB Type-C devices simultaneously up to 98W max.