Hillwood Development Company is partnering with global autonomous driving technology company TuSimple to implement the self-driving trucks, according to a Jan. 26 press release from the city of Fort Worth.
In preparation, Hillwood is building a 1 million-square-foot facility within the AllianceTexas development, the release stated. The facility will be built in the AllianceTexas Mobility Innovation Zone, which is an area that allows companies to test, prove and commercialize their technologies, according to an article from the AllianceTexas MIZ website.
The partnership comes as Hillwood works to prepare for the “rapid adoption and expansion” of autonomous trucking throughout the area and nationwide, Hillwood Chair Ross Perot Jr. said in the release.
“We’re seeing unprecedented demand for autonomous trucking capacity as the logistics industry looks for ways to become safer, more efficient and more environmentally friendly,” TuSimple President and CEO Cheng Lu said in a Jan. 25 press release. “Hillwood’s investment in these properties today will make it easier for companies to adopt, integrate and scale autonomous trucking operations.”
The upcoming facility—located off I-35W near Fort Worth Alliance Airport—will become an origin and destination facility for autonomous trucks, the release stated.
TuSimple opened a 2.5-acre logistics facility in AllianceTexas’ innovation zone in June, according to the AllianceTexas MIZ article. The new facility will not only be in close proximity to TuSimple’s major freight partner facilities but also to a “major distribution hub,” and “the largest freight market” in the U.S., the release stated.
“The on-demand economy is driving a technological transformation within the logistics industry, and through our partnership with TuSimple, the MIZ will be ready to meet that demand,” Perot said in the release.
