Tin is primarily used for soldering circuit boards, but researchers are starting to use tin to coat the anode in Li-ion batteries and its use in the battery market has continued to expand.  In 2017, researchers from the Massachusetts Institute for Technology (MIT) in the United States estimated that Tin is the metal most likely to be positively affected by future technology as it is a vital component in the manufacturing of electric vehicles, advanced robotics, renewable energies and advanced computing.  Tin’s usage across such a wide modern manufacturing spectrum is what put it on the U.S. list of critical minerals.