Norway’s battery companies have encouraged South Korean rivals to come to the Nordic country and help build a new electric-vehicle supply chain, as Europe increases efforts to reduce its reliance on Chinese suppliers.

At a conference Tuesday in Pohang, industry group Battery Norway pitched Korean companies including LG Energy Solution Ltd., Ecopro Materials Co. and Posco Future M Co. on why they should cooperate. The event, hosted by SNE Research, was held to mark the city’s designation as a “Battery Industry Special Zone.”