If I had to guess I would say passivation and nitriding.
I do know that lower end chains don’t use hardened pins. That they state this chrome hardening pins gives extra life. I don’t know about Nickel. I do know they someplates do some coating to the plates but not sure what.
Dan from Premier Bikes talks about it more on slowtwitch, but this is the gist of it.
Personally I just run my Ultegra chain, use Rock N Roll Gold every 200-300mi when ridden outside (dry conditions only), less frequently on the trainer but I do still clean/lube it even riding inside during winter, and it keeps the chain clean, quiet, and smooth. I can generally hear when the chain is getting dry and it quiets down a lot after a treatment. As far as felt difference, I can feel when its cross-chained, but only very slightly.
Generally speaking I don’t really believe any of these special chains, ceramic bearings, etc. are worthwhile for the average person, just from a pure cost perspective and how little they net as far as actual gains. Lots of these companies use fancy measurements and metrics to claim how their stuff is technically better but when it comes to actually saving power, they usually offer very little actual improvement.
Hmmm. Not sure how that polish step can smooth the rollers/pins surface which is where it would be most beneficial. Although I imagine they would be self lapping anyway!! If it is a mechanical polish as is implied it won’t penetrate there. Smoothing the links is largely cosmetic although it may have a bearing on the corrosion resistance.
On the other hand gas nitriding would penetrate and would harden the surfaces. If the steel had any case hardening capacity. I would presume that a high volume production process for a consumable item such as a chain would not implement such a process at all. So it would be a gimme for a boutique after market optimization.
[Edit] I guess the polish is for the external roller to sprocket contact.
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It’s an estimated 4w savings vs an ultegra chain when they tested the bike vs a Felt IA10. If it’s a faster chain and lasts longer, I think the price is justified 
Why is it estimated to be 4w if it was indeed tested? Is there a link to the test?
From where I stand It’s just a fancy waxed chain with a largely cosmetic surface polish. You could achieve the polish yourself by putting a tablespoon of fine sand into the ziploc bag with washing detergent and your freshly degreased chain. Then stick the bag in a US cleaner. Rinse. Then wax per usual. YMMV.
Might have a search on the nitriding myself though. Won’t help the watts but could really help longevity.
There’s lots of information on his website, including the testing protocols and results. Dan is an active slowtwitch member and has talked a lot about it there. For example:
https://forum.slowtwitch.com/forum/Slowtwitch_Forums_C1/Triathlon_Forum_F1/Best_Chain%3F_P6334943/
Honestly, if you really wanted to dive in to details, you can email, fb message, or even ask Dan to call you, and he probably would.
Looks like someone asked about their chain vs a waxed shimano but he never answered that particular question. He simply said that other companies tests don’t match their tests, the results of which he did not post.
There’s dozens of instances of him talking about it on ST and also info on his site. I gave one example of a thread. If you’re interested then I encourage you to search for others. Or, like I said, reach out to the man directly. He’s a super nice guy. He’s literally spent hours on FaceTime with his bike customers walking them through steps and questions they have about bike assembly. If you message him you’ll have a response in less than 5 minutes.
I have two bikes and three chains (1170) I rotate between them. I only use wax (applied using the old school “melt it in a pan and dip the chain there” method) and the third chain is always ready and waxed in a closed bag.
As soon as the spacing gets close to 75% max, that chairs is discontinued and I buy a new one.