I think the bigger problem right now is that the pilot scale reactor didn't work. Cf:

https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1534664

>Bench scale experiments made use of an externally heated reactor while pilot scale experiments conducted under this grant used a reactor that was self-heating.

>At the bench scale, oxygen was produced with minimal corrosion of the anode material. At the pilot scale experiments in the self-heated reactor were not able to demonstrate oxygen production at the anode, or the production of iron as measured by tracer dilution. Further work is necessary to elucidate the difference between bench and pilot scale results.