Atlas Energy Solutions and Kodiak Announce Agreement For Autonomous Trucking Technology

Rhea-AI Summary

Atlas Energy Solutions (NYSE: AESI) and Kodiak Robotics have partnered to introduce autonomous trucking technology in the Permian Basin. The companies completed their first driverless delivery of frac sand over a 21-mile route in West Texas. Atlas has ordered Kodiak-equipped driverless trucks for frac sand delivery across private lease roads. Commercial operations are set to launch early next year with two trucks using Kodiak's autonomous system.

The partnership aims to address challenges in the harsh Permian Basin environment, including dust storms and extreme heat. Atlas will own the trucks, while Kodiak provides its Driver technology and operational support. This collaboration marks a significant step in oilfield logistics and the commercial deployment of autonomous vehicles in the energy sector.

Positive

• First successful driverless delivery of frac sand completed in the Permian Basin
• Atlas placed an order for Kodiak-equipped driverless trucks
• Commercial operations with autonomous trucks set to launch early next year
• Partnership addresses challenges in harsh Permian Basin environment
• Potential for improved reliability in last-mile logistics solutions

Negative

• None.

Tech Expert

The collaboration between Atlas Energy Solutions and Kodiak Robotics in deploying autonomous trucking technology is a significant milestone in the logistics and technology sectors. This partnership leverages Kodiak's state-of-the-art autonomous driving technology to address the challenging conditions of the Permian Basin, a critical area for oilfield logistics. This move showcases the maturity and readiness of autonomous systems for commercial operations, hinting at a potentially transformative impact on supply chain efficiency, safety and cost reduction in the energy sector. The use of private lease roads provides a controlled environment conducive to the safe implementation of this technology. If successful, this could pave the way for broader adoption of autonomous trucks, reducing dependence on human drivers and mitigating risks associated with harsh driving conditions and driver shortages. The tech-driven approach indicates a forward-looking strategy that could potentially set a new standard in oilfield logistics and beyond.

Market Research Analyst

The announcement of Atlas Energy Solutions' agreement with Kodiak Robotics to deploy autonomous trucks is a major development in the logistics market, particularly within the energy sector. For retail investors, this signals a significant shift towards innovation and technological advancement, which could enhance operational efficiencies and reduce costs. The fact that Atlas has already completed a successful driverless delivery demonstrates the feasibility of this technology in real-world applications. The cost savings from reduced need for human drivers and increased reliability can substantially improve Atlas's profit margins over time. Moreover, positioning themselves as an early adopter of such advanced technology can offer Atlas a competitive edge, potentially attracting more investors interested in companies leading in innovation. However, investors should also consider the risks associated with adopting new technology, such as initial implementation costs and potential technical issues.

Financial Analyst

From a financial standpoint, Atlas Energy Solutions' move to integrate Kodiak Robotics' autonomous trucking technology can be seen as a strategic investment towards long-term cost-saving and efficiency. The initial capital expenditure on acquiring and deploying these autonomous trucks might be substantial, but the potential reduction in labor costs and improvement in delivery efficiency could lead to significant savings in the long run. Moreover, being a pioneer in adopting this technology could attract additional market interest and possibly drive up stock prices due to perceived future efficiencies and leadership in innovation. However, investors should be mindful of the technological and operational risks, including potential maintenance costs and the efficacy of support services provided by Kodiak. The market reaction will likely be closely watched and any positive results from early implementations could positively impact investor sentiment.

AUSTIN, Texas & MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Atlas Energy Solutions Inc. (NYSE: AESI) (“Atlas”) and Kodiak Robotics, Inc. (“Kodiak”) today announced that the two companies have entered into an agreement whereby Kodiak will outfit new Atlas high-capacity trucks with Kodiak’s autonomous driving technology.

The Kodiak partnership is another example of the unique culture of innovation that is pervasive inside our organization (Photo: Business Wire)

The two companies have already completed their first driverless delivery of frac sand in West Texas’s Permian Basin. The 21-mile delivery transported Atlas’s high-quality frac sand from an Atlas depot to a wellsite with no one inside the cab.

The companies also announced that 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 industry-leading autonomous 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.

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.

“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 & 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.”​​

About Atlas Energy Solutions

Atlas Energy Solutions Inc. is a leading proppant producer and proppant logistics provider, serving primarily the Permian Basin of West Texas and New Mexico. We operate 12 proppant production facilities across the Permian Basin with a combined annual production capacity of 28 million tons, including both large-scale in-basin facilities and smaller distributed mining units. We manage a portfolio of leading-edge logistics assets, which includes our 42-mile Dune Express conveyor system, which is currently under construction and is scheduled to come online in the fourth quarter of 2024. In addition to our conveyor infrastructure, we manage a fleet of 120 trucks, which are capable of delivering expanded payloads due to our custom-manufactured trailers and patented drop-depot process. Our approach to managing both our proppant production and proppant logistics operations is intently focused on leveraging technology, automation and remote operations to drive efficiencies.

We are a low-cost producer of various high-quality, locally sourced proppants used during the well completion process. We offer both dry and damp sand and carry various mesh sizes including 100 mesh and 40/70 mesh. Proppant is a key component necessary to facilitate the recovery of hydrocarbons from oil and natural gas wells.

Our logistics platform is designed to increase the efficiency, safety and sustainability of the oil and natural gas industry within the Permian Basin. Proppant logistics is increasingly a differentiating factor affecting customer choice among proppant producers. The cost of delivering sand, even short distances, can be a significant component of customer spending on their well completions given the substantial volumes that are utilized in modern well designs.

We continue to invest in and pursue leading-edge technologies, including autonomous trucking, digital infrastructure, and artificial intelligence, to support opportunities to gain efficiencies in our operations. To this end, we have recently taken delivery of next-generation dredge mining assets to drive efficiencies in our proppant production operations. These technology-focused investments aim to improve our cost structure and also combine to produce beneficial environmental and community impacts.

While our core business is fundamentally aligned with a lower emissions economy, our core obligation has been, and will always be, to our stockholders. We recognize that maximizing value for our stockholders requires that we optimize the outcomes for our broader stakeholders, including our employees and the communities in which we operate. We are proud of the fact that our approach to innovation in the hydrocarbon industry while operating in an environmentally responsible manner creates immense value. Since our founding in 2017, our core mission has been to improve human beings’ access to the hydrocarbons that power our lives while also delivering differentiated social and environmental progress. Our Atlas team has driven innovation and has produced industry-leading environmental benefits by reducing energy consumption, emissions, and our aerial footprint. We call this Sustainable Environmental and Social Progress.

We were founded in 2017 by Ben M. “Bud” Brigham, our Executive Chairman, and are led by an entrepreneurial team with a history of constructive disruption bringing significant and complementary experience to this enterprise, including the perspective of longtime E&P operators, which provides for an elevated understanding of the end users of our products and services. Our executive management team has a proven track record with a history of generating positive returns and value creation. Our experience as E&P operators was instrumental to our understanding of the opportunity created by in-basin sand production and supply in the Permian Basin, which we view as North America’s premier shale resource and which we believe will remain its most active through economic cycles.

About Kodiak Robotics, Inc.

Kodiak Robotics, Inc. was founded in 2018 and has become the trusted world leader in autonomous ground transportation committed to a safer and more efficient future for all. The company is developing an industry-leading artificial intelligence (AI) powered technology stack purpose-built for driverless military and long-haul trucking applications. Kodiak’s unique modular hardware approach integrates sensors into a streamlined sensor-pod structure that optimizes for perception, scalability, and maintainability. The company delivers freight daily for its customers across the South, using its autonomous technology. Kodiak also leverages its commercial self-driving software to develop, test and deploy autonomous capabilities for the U.S. Department of Defense. Learn more about Kodiak on the web at kodiak.ai, and on LinkedIn and Twitter. You can find the company press kit HERE.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Statements that are predictive or prospective in nature, that depend upon or refer to future events or conditions or that include the words “may,” “assume,” “forecast,” “position,” “strategy,” “potential,” “continue,” “could,” “will,” “plan,” “project,” “budget,” “predict,” “pursue,” “target,” “seek,” “objective,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “estimate” and other expressions that are predictions of or indicate future events and trends and that do not relate to historical matters identify forward-looking statements. Examples of forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements around Atlas’s and Kodiak’s ability to achieve certain milestones around and realize the potential benefits of, the development, manufacturing, scaling and commercialization of the Kodiak Driver and related services and technology and on the expected timeframe or at all; statements relating to the delivery timeline of the Kodiak Driver-equipped Atlas trucks; statements regarding the impact of autonomous driving systems on Permian Basin oil and gas operations, and the potential benefits these products and services may offer to customers; expansion and growth of Atlas’s business; Atlas’s business strategy, industry, future operations and profitability, expected capital expenditures and the impact of such expenditures on Atlas’s performance, current and potential future long-term contracts and Atlas’s future business and financial performance.

Although forward-looking statements reflect our good faith beliefs at the time they are made, we caution you that these forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, most of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond our control. These risks include but are not limited to: the acquisition of additional Kodiak Driver-equipped trucks on anticipated terms and timing or at all; uncertainties as to whether the transaction will achieve its anticipated benefits within the expected time period or at all; the occurrence of any event, change, or other circumstance that could give rise to the termination of the agreement between Atlas and Kodiak; unforeseen or unknown liabilities; unexpected future capital expenditures; commodity price volatility, including volatility stemming from the ongoing armed conflicts between Russia and Ukraine and Israel and Hamas; increasing hostilities and instability in the Middle East; adverse developments affecting the financial services industry; Atlas’s ability to complete growth projects, including the Dune Express, on time and on budget; the risk that stockholder litigation in connection with our recent corporate reorganization may result in significant costs of defense, indemnification and liability; changes in general economic, business and political conditions, including changes in the financial markets; actions of OPEC+ to set and maintain oil production levels; the level of production of crude oil, natural gas and other hydrocarbons and the resultant market prices of crude oil; inflation; environmental risks; operating risks; regulatory changes; lack of demand; market share growth; the uncertainty inherent in projecting future rates of reserves; production; cash flow; access to capital; the timing of development expenditures; and other factors discussed or referenced in Atlas’s filings made from time to time with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), including those discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” in Atlas’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed with the SEC on February 27, 2024, and any of Atlas’s subsequently filed Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. Factors or events that could cause Atlas’s actual results to differ may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all of them. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as may be required by law.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240723398477/en/

Atlas Energy Solutions Investor Relations Contact

Kyle Turlington

+1 512-220-1200

IR@atlas.energy

Kodiak Media Contacts

Daniel Goff

Director of External Affairs

+1 646-515-3933

dan@kodiak.ai

Kylee Keskerian

PR Consultant

+1 419-822-6417

kylee@futuristacommunications.com

Source: Atlas Energy Solutions

FAQ

What is the partnership between Atlas Energy Solutions (AESI) and Kodiak Robotics?

Atlas Energy Solutions (AESI) and Kodiak Robotics have partnered to introduce autonomous trucking technology for frac sand delivery in the Permian Basin. Kodiak will equip Atlas's high-capacity trucks with its autonomous driving system.

When will Atlas Energy Solutions (AESI) launch commercial operations with autonomous trucks?

Atlas Energy Solutions (AESI) plans to launch commercial operations using its first two Kodiak Driver-equipped autonomous trucks early next year.

What was the first autonomous delivery completed by Atlas Energy Solutions (AESI) and Kodiak?

Atlas Energy Solutions (AESI) and Kodiak completed their first driverless delivery of frac sand over a 21-mile route in West Texas's Permian Basin, from an Atlas depot to a wellsite.

How will the autonomous trucking technology benefit Atlas Energy Solutions (AESI) in the Permian Basin?

The autonomous trucking technology is expected to provide Atlas Energy Solutions (AESI) with a more reliable last-mile solution for frac sand delivery in the challenging Permian Basin environment, which includes dust storms and extreme heat.