Olimex Opens Pre-Orders for the Open-Hardware Espressif ESP32-C5-Powered ESP32-C5-EVB

Bulgarian open hardware specialist Olimex has opened pre-orders for a development board built around Espressif's ESP32-C5 chip — offering dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5 Low Energy, and IEEE 802.15.4 including Zigbee and Thread support: the Olimex ESP32-C5-EVB.

"The ESP32-C5-EVB is a brand-new evaluation board built around the ESP32-C5-WROOM-N8R4 module from Espressif, designed to bring dual-band wireless connectivity, ample memory, and robust control features into one compact, versatile package," says Olimex' Tsvetan Usunov of his latest board design. "Whether you’re developing IoT [Internet of Things] appliances, home automation solutions, or industrial controllers, this board delivers the flexibility and reliability you need."

The ESP32-C5 has been a long time coming: Espressif first announced it back in June 2022, when it positioned the part as being the industry's first RISC-V system-on-chip to include dual-band Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5 Low Energy (BLE) in one device. After that, the company went quiet — but details of a beta version of the chip, plus an in-house development board design, leaked in March 2024, revealing that the part's connectivity had expanded to include IEEE 802.15.4 support for Zigbee, Thread, and other compatible protocols.

Back in May this year the company finally launched a low-cost, breadboard-friendly development board, the $15 ESP32-C5-DevKitC-1 — and now Olimex is ready to launch its larger, more feature-packed answer. The ESP32-C5-EVB features a single 32-bit RISC-V core running at up to 240MHz, 384kB of static RAM (SRAM) plus 4MB of off-chip pseudo-static RAM (PSRAM), 8MB of flash, and the part's fully-featured radio system.

Elsewhere, the design includes two onboard relays rated at 250V 10A, two opto-isolated inputs, an Olimex-standard UEXT connector for solderless hardware expansion, a USB Type-C port that provides power and programming capabilities, a second USB Type-C port that serves as a JTAG debugger, physical boot and reset buttons, a lithium-polymer charging circuit with step-up converter and uninterruptible power supply (UPS) mode, and an expansion connector.

While no board imagery has yet been shared beyond a single render, Olimex has opened pre-orders on its store for the ESP32-C5-EVB at €16.95 (around $20) before volume discounts with shipping expected to take place in mid-September; upon release, hardware schematics and KiCad design files will be made available under an open hardware license.