Refinery closed
Petroineos ended crude processing at the Grangemouth refinery in 2025, and the site is becoming a fuels import, storage and distribution terminal.
The city is the United Kingdom's second-largest financial and administrative centre after London, and a financial district has grown west of the castle since the 1990s. Its Port of Leith is being developed for offshore wind, while the Grangemouth petrochemical complex lies further up the Forth, where hazardous-area demand is concentrated. Distribution partners for Edinburgh, Leith and the Forth are being identified ahead of the Q4 2026 launch of the IS-04Z1.
Pre-launch · certification in progress · Launching Q4 2026
Short answer. Edinburgh, Leith and the Forth has no appointed SAMS distributor yet: the IS-04Z1 is pre-launch (certification in progress, no certificate issued, launch planned for Q4 2026), and distributor applications are open.
Where things stand: the IS-04Z1 has not launched, and none of its four certification routes has produced a certificate yet. 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Protection concept | Flameproof (Ex d) or intrinsic safety (Ex i) | Intrinsic safety, level ib |
| Zone suitability | Zone 1 gas and Zone 21 dust | Design target for Zone 1 and 21 |
| Certificate | Number, issuing body and schedule of conditions | In progress; not issued |
| Where it applies | Edinburgh, Leith and the Forth: Fuel import and storage terminal at Grangemouth, Ethane import and storage, Port and offshore wind foundation handling | Classified by the site operator |

An intrinsically safe Android smartphone designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 hazardous areas in Edinburgh. 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.
Petroineos ended crude processing at the Grangemouth refinery in 2025, and the site is becoming a fuels import, storage and distribution terminal.
In December 2024 Forth Ports announced a 50 million pound private investment at the Port of Leith after winning its largest offshore wind contract, for the 1.1 GW Inch Cape project. Foundations are handled at Leith.
A green belt designated in 1957 surrounds the city except at the Forth shoreline, and developments such as Edinburgh Airport and the Royal Highland Showground lie within it.
Edinburgh has a cool temperate maritime climate, known as the windy city, with prevailing south-westerly winds, rainfall spread evenly through the year, and haar, a sea fog, on easterly winds.
Edinburgh lies on the south shore of the Firth of Forth in Scotland's Central Belt, with 506,520 residents in 2020 and a wider metropolitan area of 912,490.
The city has long been a centre of education in medicine, law, science and engineering, which supports a trained workforce for the professional and technical services based there.
“Explosion proof” is the phrase most buyers use for equipment that may be taken into a classified hazardous area. Strictly, it covers several protection concepts: a flameproof enclosure (Ex d) contains an internal explosion, while intrinsic safety (Ex i) limits electrical energy so that an ignition cannot start. Phones are normally intrinsically safe, because a flameproof handset would be too heavy to carry all shift.
The IS-04Z1 uses intrinsic safety, with a marking target of Ex ib IIC T4, and is designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21. It is pre-launch, certification is in progress and no certificate has been issued.
In Edinburgh, Leith and the Forth. Around the Forth, 'explosion-proof' covers very different situations: Grangemouth's petrochemical process units, ethane import and fuel storage, versus the largely non-classified quayside work at Leith. Flameproof Ex d suits fixed apparatus, while intrinsic safety suits a handheld used on foot. The operator decides which concept applies in each area.
A distributor for Edinburgh, Leith and the Forth would carry the IS-04Z1 after certification completes; the Q4 2026 launch is the planning date and no appointment has been made. SAMS reviews applicants one by one and prefers companies with their own Ex-competent technical and service staff, since certified devices must not be repaired outside approved channels.
No. Nothing can be bought or taken into a classified area today: certification is in progress and launch is planned for Q4 2026. What is available now is the datasheet, the written certification schedule and evaluation units for safe-area use.
There is no list price yet. SAMS gives indicative pre-launch pricing in writing, against a stated quantity and site, and does not commit to a lead time before certification completes.
It is intrinsically safe (marking target Ex ib IIC T4), which is the usual way to make a phone for hazardous areas. It is not a flameproof (Ex d) design, and certification is still in progress.
Likely candidates are port and offshore wind foundation handling, petrochemical process units at grangemouth, fuel import and storage terminal at grangemouth, ethane import and storage. Which areas are classified, and to what zone, is set by the site operator's own area classification drawings.
Apply through the distributor page with your company details and the territory you cover. SAMS reviews applications company by company and has not yet granted a territory for Edinburgh, Leith and the Forth.
Mostly it is an administrative and financial centre, with limited heavy industry. Whisky, brewing, fuel storage and port activity exist in and around the Forth, and larger process sites are elsewhere in Scotland, so confirm the site and operator before assuming a classification.
Edinburgh Airport lies within the green belt and the city has rail links across the Central Belt, so travel from other UK and European cities is straightforward. Plan equipment delivery by road freight and confirm gate procedures with each site.
Mostly no. The city has few classified areas, and the Port of Leith is being developed for offshore wind foundation handling. The petrochemical complex and fuel import terminal are at Grangemouth, up the Forth. Confirm with the site operator which area a given task falls into before choosing equipment.
Other guides for Edinburgh, other places in United Kingdom, and the pages behind them.
Tell us what you need to equip and where. The SAMS team answers by email with the datasheet and where each certification route stands.
Tell us the zone, gas group and operator. We will send the datasheet and the certification schedule.