Cold winters
Edmonton winters are cold enough that battery performance and glove use are practical considerations for outdoor work.
Sturgeon Refinery, originally designed as a bitumen upgrader, also processes in-situ production from Cold Lake, linking the Edmonton area to heavy-oil supply. Crude processing units, tank farms and loading areas contain classified areas where Zone 1 and Zone 2 equipment is required. An explosion proof mobile phone distributor in Edmonton refineries (Refinery Row) would carry the IS-04Z1 to these buyers once certification completes.
Pre-launch · certification in progress · Launching Q4 2026
Short answer. Edmonton refineries (Refinery Row) 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.
Current position: certification in progress, nothing issued, launch targeted for Q4 2026. Operator approval runs on its own timeline. 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 | Edmonton refineries (Refinery Row): Loading racks, Wastewater treatment, Refinery process units | Classified by the site operator |

An intrinsically safe Android smartphone designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 hazardous areas in Edmonton Refinery. It is pre-launch: IECEx, ATEX and NEC 500 certification is in progress ahead of the Q4 2026 launch.
Who operates there and which kinds of classified area a handset would meet, from the SAMS site research.
Edmonton winters are cold enough that battery performance and glove use are practical considerations for outdoor work.
Imperial's Strathcona Refinery opened in 1975, employs about 450 people and is reported at roughly 187,000 barrels per day.
Refinery Row, a concentration of refineries in west Sherwood Park just east of Edmonton, includes the Strathcona Refinery (Imperial Oil) and the Suncor Edmonton Refinery.
Alberta's Industrial Heartland covers 533 km2 across Fort Saskatchewan, Lamont, Strathcona and Sturgeon counties, plus the 49 km2 Edmonton Energy and Technology Park, for a total of 582 km2 east of Edmonton.
A second concentration of refineries and upgraders lies around Scotford in Strathcona County, separate from Refinery Row, so the Edmonton area has more than one distinct industrial cluster.
Air quality across the Industrial Heartland is monitored by the not-for-profit Fort Air Partnership, formed in 1997, an indication of the continuous monitoring regime that operates around the plants.
“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 Edmonton refineries (Refinery Row). At a refinery, explosion-proof usually describes flameproof Ex d equipment on pumps, motors and lighting around process units and loading racks. A handheld phone works differently, using intrinsic safety. At Refinery Row, the difference matters most for inspectors who cross process, tank farm and wastewater areas in one round.
SAMS is appointing authorised distributors ahead of the Q4 2026 launch. No territory has been granted for Edmonton refineries (Refinery Row) yet and applications are reviewed company by company. Because a certified Ex device cannot be opened by an ordinary phone workshop without invalidating its certificate, SAMS looks for partners who can provide competent technical support and after-sales service locally.
Not yet. The IS-04Z1 is pre-launch and its certification is still in progress ahead of a Q4 2026 launch. No unit goes into a classified area before the certificate covering it exists. The datasheet, the certification schedule and safe-area evaluation units are available now.
SAMS has not published a price. Any figure you are offered for an uncertified Ex phone should be treated with caution; written indicative pricing is available for a defined quantity and site.
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 refinery process units, crude and product tank farms, loading racks, wastewater treatment. 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 Edmonton refineries (Refinery Row).
Cold winters affect outdoor work, and refineries run planned turnarounds outside peak demand. Dates are operator-set, so ask the operator's contractor team about shutdown windows and which devices are approved for process areas.
Refinery Row in Sherwood Park hosts the Strathcona (Imperial) and Suncor Edmonton refineries, and the Scotford and Industrial Heartland cluster has upgrading and refining capacity. Confirm which operator and site you will visit, because device rules are set per site.
Possibly. Equipment is normally approved by the site operator's HSE or electrical authority, and each operator runs its own process. Imperial Oil and Suncor may ask for different documents or trials. A single manufacturer certificate would help, but ask each operator what it requires before moving a device between sites.
Related guides for Edmonton Refinery and for Canada.
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.