The malate-aspartate shuttle (sometimes simply the malate shuttle) is a biochemical system for translocating electrons produced during glycolysis across the semipermeable inner membrane of the mitochondrion for oxidative phosphorylation in eukaryotes. These electrons enter the electron transport chain of the mitochondria via reduction equivalents to generate ATP. The shuttle system is required because the mitochondrial inner membrane is impermeable to NADH, the primary reducing equivalent of the electron transport chain. To circumvent this, malate carries the reducing equivalents across the membrane.