[lambdatronics]

The paper says that this is only half of a solution: "Our investigation here has focussed [sic] on the fundamental Li-NRR performance at the cathode. Further developments towards a complete ammonia electrosynthesis system will require investigations of appropriate anode reactions while eliminating sacrificial solvent oxidation. A feasible initial strategy is to couple the Li-NRR with the H2 oxidation reaction, which has already been demonstrated but requires improvements in stability and activity. A more-desirable anode process is H2O oxidation, which presents larger challenges because of the potential interference of water with the Li-mediated process and vice versa."

This system involves ethanol as a sacrificial hydrogen donor: "The amount of ammonia produced in the 96 h experiments (3.9 ± 0.1 mmol) was around four times higher than the amount of ethanol present (1 mmol), indicating that it is not a completely sacrificial reactant but can also operate as a proton carrier."