Abstract: A catalytic element may be created by compressing a mesh fabric to reduce its dimension to achieve a desired size and shape. The process begins by braiding or otherwise forming a flat wire into a sheet of mesh fabric and then forming the surface of the sheet with angled ridges. Two sheets are then laid one on top of another with the angled ridges running at an angle to each other. The pair of sheets are then rolled into a cylinder to form a catalytic body. After applying solder to the catalytic body, it is compressed to a desired lesser dimension and then heat is applied to fuse the wires while holding the catalytic body in its compressed size and shape. Next, a precious metal catalytic coating is applied to the fused catalytic body and heat is again applied to bond the precious metal compound to the catalytic body.