Belgium: infrastructure
Nuclear power typically supplies 50-60% of domestic electricity, and in 2023 the lives of Doel 4 and Tihange 3 were extended to 2035, so long-running plant maintenance continues alongside the gas network.
The IS-04Z1 is an intrinsically safe Android handset designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21, aimed at the chemical belt along the Scheldt, the terminals at Zeebrugge and the platforms in Hainaut. This page sets out how an intrinsically safe smartphone supply route to Belgium will work for the IS-04Z1, and what is and is not available before launch.
Pre-launch · certification in progress · Launching Q4 2026
Short answer. An intrinsically safe smartphone for Belgium cannot be bought yet: the SAMS IS-04Z1 is pre-launch (certification in progress, no certificate issued), and the datasheet, certification schedule and safe-area evaluation units are available now.
Status: pre-launch. IECEx, ATEX, UKEX and NEC 500 certification is in progress and no certificate has been issued; launch is planned for Q4 2026. An operator's own vendor approval is a separate step. Certification status. Place facts reviewed October 2026.
| Check | What to look for | IS-04Z1 today |
|---|---|---|
| Level of protection | ia, ib or ic matched to the zone | ib, for Zone 1 |
| Entity parameters | Uo, Io and Po within the device limits | Published with the certificate |
| Accessories | Chargers and cases certified with the device | Defined at certification |
| Where it applies | Belgium: Feluy, Jemeppe-sur-Sambre, Antwerp right bank | Classified by the site operator |

An intrinsically safe Android smartphone designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 hazardous areas in Belgium. It is pre-launch: IECEx, ATEX and NEC 500 certification is in progress ahead of the Q4 2026 launch.
Operators and classified areas drawn from the SAMS Belgium market guide.
Nuclear power typically supplies 50-60% of domestic electricity, and in 2023 the lives of Doel 4 and Tihange 3 were extended to 2035, so long-running plant maintenance continues alongside the gas network.
Belgium imports raw materials and semi-finished goods and re-exports them after processing, with the Port of Antwerp the most notable of its ports, canals, railways and highways.
After Groningen gas supply fell, Belgium converted affected customers from low-calorific L-gas to high-calorific H-gas, a programme that began in 2018 and was completed by the end of summer 2024.
Under ATEX, equipment in use before July 2003 can remain in use indefinitely provided a risk assessment shows it is safe, which matters when mixing older and newer devices at long-established plants.
Intrinsic safety limits the electrical and thermal energy in a circuit so that neither a spark nor a hot surface can ignite a gas or dust atmosphere, even when a fault occurs. The ib level, used for Zone 1, tolerates one fault. It is the usual way to make a handheld device that a worker carries continuously through a hazardous area.
The IS-04Z1 is designed on this principle for Zone 1 and Zone 21 (marking target II 2 G Ex ib IIC T4). Intrinsic safety is a design basis, not a certificate: certification is in progress and none has been issued yet.
In Belgium. Turnaround shifts at Antwerp, Zeebrugge and Feluy involve long days inside plant fences with a work order application open and no charging point in a classified area. An intrinsically safe handheld is designed for those rounds, with a 4,000 mAh battery sized for a full stop shift, since walking out to charge costs more than the battery.
Nothing can be bought for Belgium today: the IS-04Z1 is pre-launch, and SAMS will supply end users through authorised distributors once certificates exist. What a buyer can do now is take the specification, ask for the written certification schedule and arrange a safe-area evaluation, so that the right local channel contacts you at launch.
The technical specification, marking target and conditions of use, sent by email.
Which certificates are in progress, in what order, and what is still to be confirmed.
Evaluation units can be used for connectivity, MDM enrolment and workflow testing outside classified areas.
Tell us the site, zone, gas group and quantity so the right authorised distributor can contact you.
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.
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 circuits are designed to limit energy so a spark or hot surface cannot ignite a gas or dust atmosphere, even with one fault (level ib, Zone 1). Certification of that design is in progress.
The market guide for Belgium covers Antwerp right bank, Antwerp left bank, Zeebrugge, Ghent canal zone, among others. Site-level pages are linked below.
Through authorised distributors once certificates exist. Until then SAMS can send the datasheet and certification schedule and arrange safe-area evaluation units.
ATEX allows equipment in use before July 2003 to remain in service if a risk assessment shows it is safe. New purchases need to meet the current Directive. Keep the operator's risk assessment on file and ask whether it has additional internal rules for handheld devices.
The Antwerp port area and Flanders are the best-known concentration, with further industry along the Sillon industriel through Liège and Charleroi. Details of individual plants and zones are held by each operator, so request their layout drawings when planning.
Belgian rules expect information that reaches a worker to be in the language of the region where the work happens: Dutch in Flanders, French in Wallonia, and both in Brussels. The manual, safe-use instructions and declaration of conformity are planned in Dutch and French. Certification is still in progress. Check the wording with your site safety adviser.
More on Belgium, and on other places in Belgium.
Send the site, zone and gas group and roughly how many handsets. We reply by email with the datasheet and the certification schedule.
Send the zone and gas group of your site and we will reply with the datasheet and schedule.