Coastal setting
Kerala's coast is generally humid with heavy monsoon rain, so ingress protection and corrosion resistance matter.
Capacity rose from 2.5 million tonnes in 1966 to 9.5 million by 2010, and a plan reported in 2014 aimed to reach 15.5 million with a new distillation unit. Refining, petrochemical, LNG and crude import handling create Zone 1 areas. This page explains what to look for in an Ex-proof smartphone for Kochi, Kerala, and where the IS-04Z1 stands against that list today.
Pre-launch · certification in progress · Launching Q4 2026
Short answer. The SAMS IS-04Z1 is the intrinsically safe smartphone covered here for Kochi, Kerala: pre-launch, designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 (marking target Ex ib IIC T4), with certification in progress and no certificate issued.
For the record, no certificate exists for the IS-04Z1 today. The programme is under way ahead of a Q4 2026 launch. A buyer's engineering review is separate from the certificate. Certification status. Place facts reviewed October 2026.
| Check | What to look for | IS-04Z1 today |
|---|---|---|
| Ex marking | Group, category, protection concept, gas group, temperature class | II 2 G Ex ib IIC T4 (target) |
| Gas group | IIA, IIB or IIC matched to the area drawing | IIC (target) |
| Temperature class | T-class below the ignition temperature of the gas | T4, 135 °C (target) |
| Where it applies | Kochi, Kerala: Refinery process units, LNG regasification and storage, Single point mooring and crude pipelines | Classified by the site operator |

An intrinsically safe Android smartphone designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 hazardous areas in Kochi India. It is pre-launch: IECEx, ATEX and NEC 500 certification is in progress ahead of the Q4 2026 launch.
The companies on site and the hazardous-area types a handset is likely to meet there.
Kerala's coast is generally humid with heavy monsoon rain, so ingress protection and corrosion resistance matter.
The Kochi Refinery is about 12 km east of the city, is operated by BPCL and produces fuels plus petrochemical products such as benzene and toluene. An offshore single point mooring commissioned in 2007 receives crude from very large crude carriers.
Kochi Refinery, now part of BPCL, is the largest public-sector refinery in India with a capacity of 15.5 million tonnes a year, at Ambalamugal about 12 kilometres east of the city centre.
Aromatics production for benzene and toluene began in 1989, and a bitumen oxidation unit of 378,000 tonnes a year started in 2008.
Kochi's urban area had over 2.1 million people in 2011, and the city is the financial, industrial and commercial capital of Kerala.
Kochi has a tropical monsoon climate with annual temperatures of 23 to 31 degrees Celsius and moderate to high humidity all year.
“Ex-proof” is shorthand for equipment carrying an explosion-protection marking (the Ex mark) that matches the area it enters. The marking states the protection concept, gas or dust group and temperature class, and it must be backed by a certificate issued by a recognised body, so a phone described as Ex-proof should come with a certificate number you can check.
The IS-04Z1 is designed to carry the marking II 2 G Ex ib IIC T4. That is a target: certification is in progress, no certificate has been issued, and SAMS will publish the certificate numbers when they exist.
In Kochi, Kerala. A marking check at Kochi should match the device against the unit visited, since benzene and toluene areas, fuel storage and LNG regasification can differ in gas group and temperature class. The IS-04Z1 target marking is II 2 G Ex ib IIC T4, and the operator's classification decides suitability.
A short checklist for anyone writing or reviewing the specification, with the IS-04Z1 status against each point.
Not today. Until the certificates are issued the IS-04Z1 stays out of classified areas, and until launch there is nothing to purchase. You can ask for the datasheet and the certification schedule, or book a safe-area evaluation unit.
No price is published. While certification is in progress there is no list price and no committed lead time, and a supplier quoting a firm figure for an uncertified Ex handset is promising something it cannot stand behind. Indicative pre-launch pricing is issued in writing against a stated quantity and site.
The marking target is II 2 G Ex ib IIC T4. It becomes a marking only when the certificate is issued; until then it is a design target.
Likely candidates are refinery process units, lng regasification and storage, single point mooring and crude pipelines, petrochemical units. Which areas are classified, and to what zone, is set by the site operator's own area classification drawings.
Not exactly. Explosion proof is a broad everyday term; intrinsic safety is one protection concept, which limits energy so ignition cannot occur. Flameproof (Ex d) is a different concept that contains an explosion. The IS-04Z1 is intrinsically safe by design.
The refinery is at Ambalamugal, about 12 kilometres east of the city centre, and Kochi has air, road, rail and sea links. Agree gate access and induction with the operator in advance.
Kochi gets about 3,000 millimetres of rain a year over roughly 124 rainy days, with humidity moderate to high all year. Choose sealed housings with a high ingress rating, and store spares in dry conditions.
No. The refinery at Ambalamugal and the LNG terminal at Puthuvype are separate sites run by different operators, each with its own area records and permits. Confirm requirements with each operator separately. Approval at one site does not carry across.
More on Kochi India, and on other places in India.
Send the site, zone and gas group and roughly how many handsets. We reply by email with the datasheet and the certification schedule.
Tell us the zone, gas group and operator. We will send the datasheet and the certification schedule.