Navitas Semiconductor announced that Virtual Forest has adopted its GaNFast? power integrated circuits (IC) technology for a zero-emission, powerful 3 hp (2,250W) solar-powered irrigation pump. For many farmers worldwide, irrigating remote crops requires powerful pumps to lift water from rivers and streams up to field-level, with the majority powered by polluting and noisy diesel generators or expensive, lossy long-distance electrical cables.

The Virtual Forest solar pump with maximum power point tracking (MPPT) operates in conjunction with solar panel and energy storage to provide robust, energy-independent, and pollution-free performance at the point of use. The 3 hp (2, 250W) pump is remotely accessed via quad-band IoT with low power consumption. It can raise over 50 gallons-per-minute of water to a height of over 90 feet, enough to water 3 acres of farmland, and help to produce 10 tonnes of wheat.

Further, the IoT enabled solar pump ensures optimal water usage through intelligent analytics, therefore minimizing ground water utilization. Navitas GaNSense? half-bridge power ICs monolithically by integrating two GaN power FETs with GaN drivers, level-shifters, protection features and high-efficiency loss-less current sensing.

High-efficiency NV6269 half-bridge ICs, in easy-to-use 8x10 mm QFN packages are used in a 3-phase motor inverter, with 3x-5x energy savings vs legacy silicon IGBTs.