Decarbonisation plans
EET Fuels has announced a 1.2 billion dollar decarbonisation programme, including a hydrogen-ready combined heat and power plant planned for 2027 to 2029, so project work is expected.
Liverpool lies on the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary near the Irish Sea, 286 km north-west of London, with 507,915 residents in 2025 and a City Region population over 1.5 million. The Stanlow refinery at Ellesmere Port, on the Manchester Ship Canal, receives crude through the Tranmere Oil Terminal on the Mersey, so Zone 1 areas are found at the refinery, jetties and pipelines around the estuary rather than in the city. Distribution partners for Liverpool and the Mersey are being identified ahead of the Q4 2026 launch of the IS-04Z1.
Pre-launch · certification in progress · Launching Q4 2026
Short answer. Liverpool and the Mersey 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 | Liverpool and the Mersey: Product pipelines and pump stations, Tank farms, Refinery process units at Stanlow | Classified by the site operator |

An intrinsically safe Android smartphone designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 hazardous areas in Liverpool. 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.
EET Fuels has announced a 1.2 billion dollar decarbonisation programme, including a hydrogen-ready combined heat and power plant planned for 2027 to 2029, so project work is expected.
Crude oil arrives at Tranmere on the Mersey and travels to Stanlow by pipeline of about 24 km.
The Royal Seaforth and Liverpool2 terminals handle containers, liquid and dry bulk such as coal, grain and biomass, and roll-on roll-off cargo, so dust and vapour hazards arise at the quayside.
The city has a temperate maritime climate with mild summers, cool winters and rainfall spread fairly evenly through the year, with a record low of minus 17.6 degrees Celsius in December 2010.
In 2023 the UK government designated Liverpool a Freeport to encourage international commerce, which affects customs handling and site development around the port.
Liverpool hosts UK offices of shipping lines including Atlantic Container Line, Bibby Line, Hapag-Lloyd, Irish Ferries and Maersk, so marine buyers and technical managers are close together.
“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 Liverpool and the Mersey. At Stanlow and the Tranmere jetties, 'explosion-proof' covers refinery process units, tank farms, pump stations and marine terminals. Flameproof Ex d suits fixed motors and junction boxes, while intrinsic safety suits a handheld carried along pipeline routes. The operator decides which concept applies in each area, whatever the everyday term implies.
Distribution of the IS-04Z1 is by authorised partners only, and SAMS has not yet granted a territory for Liverpool and the Mersey. Each application is reviewed on its merits. Because opening a certified Ex handset in an ordinary workshop invalidates its certificate, the partner must be able to support and service the device locally.
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.
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 at stanlow, marine oil terminal jetties, product pipelines and pump stations, tank farms. 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 Liverpool and the Mersey.
The maritime climate brings frequent rain and sea wind, and salt air affects connectors and charging contacts. Typically devices need good ingress protection and routine cleaning, and users should check ratings against the port's rules.
Liquid bulk handling, dry bulk such as coal, grain and biomass, fuel and chemical storage and vessel operations. Vapour and dust zones can arise at jetties, silos and conveyors, so ask the terminal operator for its zone drawings and portable-device rules.
EET Fuels has announced a decarbonisation programme that includes a hydrogen-ready combined heat and power plant planned for 2027 to 2029, so project work is expected. Plans can change. A buyer should ask the operator or its contractors what equipment and marking they will require for those areas.
More on Liverpool, and on other places in United Kingdom.
Tell us what you need to equip and where. The SAMS team answers by email with the datasheet and where each certification route stands.
Send the zone and gas group of your site and we will reply with the datasheet and schedule.