The paper linked from the article is behind a pay wall but the abstract[1] is very brief: "A simple power supply is used to apply a 3.0 V potential bias across a microelectrochemical cell comprising two microchannels spanned by a single bipolar electrode (BPE) to drive chloride oxidation and water electrolysis at the BPE poles. The resulting ion depletion zone and associated electric field gradient direct ions into a branching microchannel, consequently producing desalted water."

[1] http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/anie.201302577/ab...