The batch shipped on 23 August, bound for an unidentified country in southeast Asia, Tata said in a statement.

Tata Ferroshots is a granulated pig iron that is solidified by cooling it in water and is an alternative to pig iron, scrap and direct reduced iron, Tata said. Tata is utilizing technology from Sweden’s Uvan Hagfors Teknologi AB.

“During the past few years we have seen an increasing demand from a number of steel producers for a stable and industrial process to handle excess blast furnace iron,” said Per Vesterberg, sales manager at UHT, in a statement. “It has become clear that the sustainable way forward for integrated steel plants is to make use of excess iron by turning it into sellable products such as granules.”

Because the iron is in granule form, steelmakers can realize better yields, higher productivity and lower energy costs, the company said. Tata said it began producing Ferroshots at Kalinganagar in March.

“Within a few months of its launch, this innovative product has garnered a lot of interest from the steel industry, which has traditionally used pig iron, sponge iron and scrap. After its encouraging acceptance in the domestic market, the product is set to make its foray into the international arena.”

Tata has been ramping up operations at the Kalinganagar works, which came on-line earlier this year, with commercial production having begun in May.

The plant is being developed in stages and ultimately will have 6 million metric tons of annual capacity, Tata said.