Spain: background
REPESA was incorporated in 1948 to build a refinery in the Escombreras valley at Cartagena, so Cartagena is among Spain's oldest refining and chemical locations.
The IS-04Z1 is an intrinsically safe Android handset designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21, built for the refineries, chemical parks and LNG terminals from Bilbao to the Campo de Gibraltar. This page sets out how an intrinsically safe smartphone supply route to Spain 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 Spain 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.
For the record, no certificate exists for the IS-04Z1 today. The programme is under way ahead of a Q4 2026 launch. Operator approval runs on its own timeline. 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 | Spain: Puertollano, Muskiz and Bilbao, Tarragona | Classified by the site operator |

An intrinsically safe Android smartphone designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 hazardous areas in Spain. It is pre-launch: IECEx, ATEX and NEC 500 certification is in progress ahead of the Q4 2026 launch.
The classified areas, operators and sites below are the ones covered in the SAMS Spain market guide.
REPESA was incorporated in 1948 to build a refinery in the Escombreras valley at Cartagena, so Cartagena is among Spain's oldest refining and chemical locations.
In 2020 Spain's primary energy came from petroleum (42.3%), natural gas (19.8%), coal (11.6%), nuclear (12%) and renewables (14.3%), so refining, gas and power sites all matter.
Renewables supplied 46.7% of power consumption in 2021 and Spain was the first country to rely on wind as its top energy source for a full year, so wind and solar construction is a large workload.
The Port of Tarragona has doubled its bulk-liquid storage area to 36 hectares, holds over 900,000 cubic metres of storage and serves chemical plants through a common pipeline rack, the Dixquimics Rack, with 71 lines.
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 Spain. Intrinsic safety suits the long walking routes within the complexes at Tarragona, Huelva and Cartagena and the rounds at regasification terminals. A handheld that limits ignition energy lets operators photograph, record and communicate in the area. The complexes are widely separated, so one configured handset per crew is practical.
Nothing can be bought for Spain 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 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.
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 Spain covers Tarragona, Cartagena and Escombreras, Huelva, Campo de Gibraltar, 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.
Cartagena's Escombreras valley is among the oldest refinery locations, and Repsol and other operators run refining and chemical sites on the coasts. Details change, so confirm the current site list and each operator's contractor requirements before planning work.
Gas entry points, regasification plants and compressor stations are likely Zone 1 or Zone 2 areas, so check the device's gas group and temperature class against the site's classification drawings. Operators typically also require device registration and induction, so allow time before a shutdown.
It is designed with IP68 sealing and a rugged build for heat, salt and wash-down. The T4 target is judged against the ambient range on the certificate, which is in progress. Check that range against peak August temperatures at your plant before specifying.
Other guides for Spain, other places in Spain, and the pages behind them.
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.