OSLO, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Equinor, Norsk Hydro and Panasonic will explore oportunities to set up a lithium-ion battery business in Norway, the firms said on Wednesday.

"The companies intend that this initiative is based on Panasonic's leading technology and targets the European market for electric vehicles and other applications," they said in a joint statement. (Reporting by Terje Solsvik; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)