Atlas Energy Solutions and Kodiak Robotics announced their first driverless delivery of frac sand in West Texas’s Permian Basin.

The 21-mile delivery transported frac sand from an Atlas depot to a wellsite with no one inside the cab, according to a news release.

The two companies announced an agreement for Kodiak to outfit new Atlas high-capacity trucks with Kodiak’s autonomous driving technology.

Atlas Energy Solutions is a producer of and logistics provider for proppant, commonly known as frac sand, used in the hydraulic fracturing (fracking) process. The company operates 12 proppant production facilities across the Permian Basin of West Texas and New Mexico.

Autonomous Operations Underway

Atlas has placed an order for Kodiak-equipped driverless trucks that will deliver frac sand across the Permian Basin’s existing infrastructure of private lease roads.

Early next year, Atlas plans to launch commercial operations using its first two trucks equipped with the Kodiak Driver, Kodiak’s autonomous vehicle control system.

Under the agreement, Kodiak will provide its technology to Atlas via a driver-as-a-service licensing agreement. Atlas will own the trucks, and Kodiak will provide the Kodiak Driver’s fully redundant, platform-agnostic, hardware and software stack designed for scalable driverless deployment.

Kodiak will also provide operational support services, including remote monitoring from its operations center in Lancaster, Texas.

“Atlas’s partnership with Kodiak is another example of the unique culture of innovation that is pervasive inside our organization,” said John Turner, CEO, Atlas.

A Challenging Desert Environment

The hot and dry climate in the Permian Basin makes it one of the world’s most challenging environments for truck drivers. The Kodiak Driver is well equipped to handle driving through harsh conditions, including dust storms that impact visibility and extreme heat, according to the announcement.

“The Permian Basin’s expansive private lease road network, which expands across the Delaware and Midland Basins, is an ideal environment in which to introduce autonomous trucking in North America,” said Chris Scholla, chief supply chain officer, Atlas.

“With average traffic speeds of under 20 mph on these large swaths of private roads, we can safely deliver a more reliable last-mile solution to our customers in the Permian Basin. This truly represents a step-change in oilfield logistics.”

“Deploying driverless trucks with Atlas marks the beginning of a new era for autonomous vehicles,” said Don Burnette, founder and CEO, Kodiak.

“Our partnership with Atlas will make us the first autonomous semi-truck company to establish commercial driverless operations, and the first company to make autonomous trucking a real business. We look forward to scaling our trucking product not only in the Permian Basin, but also over-the-road.”