Atlas Energy Solutions is expanding its use of Kodiak-powered autonomous trucks in the Permian Basin, adding a second loading point and outlining plans to grow its driverless fleet to 100 trucks by mid-2027.
Atlas uses the autonomous trucks to haul frac sand from its Dune Express conveyor system to oilfield well sites in Texas and New Mexico.
The company is now concurrently operating driverless trucks at load-out sites located in Texas and New Mexico. Trucks equipped with the AI-enabled Kodiak Driver haul sand to well sites across the Permian oil and gas basin.
Previously, Atlas’s driverless trucks operated from one load-out point at a time.
A Kodiak-powered autonomous truck hauling triple trailers shares an oilfield road with conventional traffic in the Permian Basin. The autonomous trucks deliver frac sand from Atlas Energy Solutions’ Dune Express conveyor system to drilling sites.
Atlas is expanding its driverless proppant delivery program to a second simultaneous load-out point on its 42-mile Dune Express sand conveyor system.
By adding a second site about 90 minutes away, Atlas said it can serve a broader area of the Permian Basin and respond more quickly to customer demand.
Atlas and Kodiak also have agreed on a deployment schedule that would increase the autonomous fleet from 28 trucks to 100 by the middle of next year.
The companies also said they expect the trucks to begin operating on public roads in early 2027, pending regulatory approvals and other operational milestones.
Atlas’ Success So Far With Kodiak Autonomous Trucks
The companies said the expansion builds on a program that began with driverless commercial operations in 2024. As of March 31, the fleet of 28 trucks had completed about 7,000 deliveries, hauling more than 450,000 tons of sand across 15 routes. Atlas said the trucks logged more than 23,500 driverless operating hours during the first quarter of 2026.
On July 20, the fleet delivered 176 loads of sand in a single day, which Atlas said was its highest daily total since launching autonomous operations in the Permian Basin.
Earlier this year, Atlas and Kodiak demonstrated what they said was the first autonomous operation using triple trailers, with a combined loaded weight exceeding 135 tons.
“This partnership with Kodiak is a critical part of our strategy to transform oilfield sand logistics through innovation,” Atlas CEO John Turner said in a statement.
Kodiak, which went public earlier this year, develops autonomous driving technology for trucking, industrial vehicles and defense applications. Atlas is one of the company’s largest commercial deployments and, according to the companies, currently operates the world’s largest fleet of driverless heavy trucks.
Kodiak isn’t the only autonomous truck technology provider working with customers in the Permian Basin. Aurora last year announced a deal with Detmar Logistics for Aurora autonomous trucks to haul frac sand around the clock on public roads and highways in the Permian Basin.
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