Herndon, VA - Volkswagen announced today that a 2013 Jetta Hybrid driven by Motor Trend Associate Road Test Editor Carlos Lago recorded a speed of 185.394 mph (298.363 kph) at the Bonneville Salt Flats, near Wendover, Nevada, during the Southern California Timing Association's (SCTA) annual Speed Week.

ENGADGET: Volkswagen 2013 Jetta Hybrid sets speed record, gives new meaning to hypermiling

Driven by demand for hybrid and electric cars, lithium demand is expected to swell to 250, 000 tons annually up from current levels of 100, 000 tons.

FORBES: Chile Gets A Charge From Lithium

Revenue growth has been driven in recent quarters by ultracapacitor sales for hybrid buses and wind turbines, mostly in China.

FORBES: Maxwell Beats Earnings, But Scares Investors with Guidance

Heartening news rang forth from the renewable energy sector this week as a UN-backed study reported that the building of new renewable energy plants has officially overtaken fossil fuel plants in Europe and the US. We also took a look at two brand new types of power plants -- the world's first hydrogen-driven power plant in Italy and the first hybrid coal-solar power plant in Colorado.

ENGADGET: Inhabitat's Week in Green: of mirror cubes and urban icebergs

It is a hybrid, powered by both a small internal combustion engine and a battery-driven electric motor.

ECONOMIST: Fuel economy