California-based Kodiak Robotics has delivered two more driverless trucks to help Atlas Energy automate its supply chain.

Kodiak provides AI-powered autonomous vehicle technology. The two additional driverless trucks for Texas firm Atlas Energy will let it launch a round-the-clock driverless service, stopping only for things such as maintenance and refuelling.

Atlas now owns and operates four trucks equipped with the Kodiak Driver AI-powered autonomous system (kodiak.ai/technology).

The two new Kodiak Driver-powered trucks entered service late last month, and are part of a 100-truck order placed by Atlas as the company seeks to automate its supply chain. The driverless trucks pick up frac sand from Atlas’ Dune Express, a 67.5km conveyor system that carries the sand from Atlas’ mine closer to well sites. From there, the driverless trucks transport the sand to Atlas’ customer well sites across in the Permian Basin, which spans parts of west Texas and eastern New Mexico.

“Our initial rollout of Kodiak Driver-powered driverless trucks represents a significant operational milestone in our autonomous strategy, creating a clear path to continue scaling our businesses together,” said John Turner, CEO of Atlas Energy. “Kodiak’s autonomous technology can meaningfully help us address challenges ranging from driver recruitment to demanding operating conditions. We plan to continue adding Kodiak Driver-powered trucks to our fleet helping to strengthen our long-term competitiveness.”

Since launching commercial operations with driverless trucks in December 2024, Atlas’ Kodiak Driver-powered trucks have delivered more than 800 loads and conducted over 1600 hours of driverless service. In April, Kodiak announced it had received a firm commitment from Atlas to order an initial 100 trucks, after Kodiak achieved certain key performance and operational milestones.

Kodiak offers Kodiak Driver-powered trucks under a driver-as-a-service model, where customers pay a per-kilometre or per-vehicle licensing fee that covers driverless operations and ongoing system support, with its trucks delivering day and night in most weather conditions.

“We continue to make rapid progress on the Kodiak Driver’s core technology, enabling such critical features as night driving, ” said Don Burnette, CEO of Kodiak. “Our work with Atlas demonstrates the Kodiak Driver’s ability to provide value to commercial trucking customers. We believe the driverless operational experience we’re gaining in the Permian Basin will position us to more efficiently scale our driverless operations across domains, including on-highway.”

Kodiak Robotics (kodiak.ai) was founded in 2018 and is a provider of AI-powered autonomous vehicle technology to help tackle some of the toughest driving jobs. Atlas Energy (www.atlas.energy) has a portfolio including oilfield logistics, distributed power systems and the largest proppant supply network in the Permian Basin.