Kodiak Robotics says it is now running driverless trucks to transport frac sand in the Permian Basin of West Texas.

The 21-mile route runs from an Atlas Energy Solutions depot to a wellsite. Atlas has placed an order for driverless trucks to make such deliveries, which will be commercially launched early next year.

The trucks will be driven by the Kodiak Driver autonomous driving system. Kodiak says it will provide the self-driving trucks using a driver-as-a-service model. Atlas will own the trucks, and Kodiak will provide the autonomous driving hardware and software stacks.

“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. He notes the hot and dry climate in the Permian Basin makes it a challenging environment for truck drivers.

“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 (32 km/h) 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.”​​