<p>This article presents a new direct pulse-width modulation (PWM) AC–AC converter, which is built with a few active and passive components compared with recent counterpart topologies. In this topology, the power can flow in both directions, enabling the converter to operate in buck and boost modes based on power flow direction. The proposed converter also benefits from low input and output current total harmonic distortions (THD), common ground, and low switching losses. In addition, only two out of four power switches are switched at high frequency for each input voltage half-cycle, which helps to lower switching losses. A safe commutation switching strategy is also introduced to avoid voltage spikes across power switches. Besides, zero-voltage and zero-current switching (ZVS and ZCS) are achieved for one pair of switches, reducing switching losses. The converter exhibits a better switching device power (SDP) compared to its counterpart circuits. This paper demonstrates the operation principle of the topology and proposes its design guidelines and comparisons. Experimental results on a prototype circuit confirm the theoretical claims. The proposed converter can supply electric furnaces and high-voltage systems based on the Cockcroft-Walton voltage multiplier, and it can also compensate for voltage sag as a power quality compensator.</p>