Atlas Energy Solutions has expanded its autonomous truck operations in the Permian Basin in the southwest of the USA, a prolific oil and gas basin, by extending its driverless proppant delivery program with Kodiak AI.
The expansion adds a second load-out point along the company’s 42-mile Dune Express sand conveyor system, increasing the reach of autonomous deliveries and supporting growing customer demand, according to Atlas.
The companies have also agreed to a delivery timetable that will expand Atlas’s Kodiak-enabled fleet from 28 driverless trucks operating as of March 31, 2026, to 100 autonomous delivery trucks by mid-2027. They also expect to have the fleet operating on public roads in early 2027.
“This partnership with Kodiak is a critical part of the Atlas Energy strategy to transform oilfield sand logistics through innovation,” said John Turner, CEO and president of Atlas Energy Solutions. “Our mission is to seek critical energy infrastructure with inefficiencies, then engineer solutions that improve efficiency, reduce risk and enhance our customers’ operational success.”
Trucks equipped with the AI-enabled Kodiak Driver, Kodiak’s autonomous driving system, have an expanded reach and service area to haul sand to well sites across the Permian. Previously, Atlas’s driverless trucks operated from one load-out point at a time. With autonomous operations now running from two distinct depots approximately 90 minutes apart, Atlas can serve customers across a larger geographic area simultaneously.
Atlas’s autonomous program has scaled steadily since its initial driverless deployments in 2024. As of March 31, 2026, Atlas operated 28 driverless trucks across 15 distinct routes, which together have carried approximately 7,000 loads and hauled more than 450,000 tons of sand. The fleet also completed over 23,500 driverless hours of operation in the first quarter of 2026. On July 20, Kodiak-powered trucks delivered 176 loads of sand in a single day, an all-time daily high across 18 months of driverless deployments with Atlas in the Permian Basin.
“Together, Atlas and Kodiak have deployed the world’s largest fleet of driverless big-rig trucks,” said Don Burnette, founder and CEO, Kodiak. “We’ve demonstrated that autonomous trucking is delivering meaningful results today. Our expanding partnership, which now covers two unique locations, is creating a blueprint for how autonomy can transform logistics by improving efficiency, increasing productivity, and delivering lasting value for customers at commercial scale.”
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