ELMy H-mode experiments at JET in 2000/mid-2002 have focused on discharges with normalized parameters for plasma density, energy confinement and beta similar to those of the ITER QDT = 10 reference regime (n/nGW ∼ 0.85, H98(y,2) ∼ 1, βN ∼ 1.8). ELMy H-mode plasmas have been realized reaching or even exceeding those parameters in steady-state conditions (up to ∼ 5 s or 12 τE) in a reproducible way and only limited by the duration of the additional heating phase. These results have been obtained (a) in highly triangular plasmas, by increasing the average triangularity δ towards the ITER reference value (δ ∼ 0.5), and (b) in plasmas at low triangularity (δ ∼ 0.2) by seeding of Ar and placing the X-point of the plasma on the top of the septum. Pellet injection from the high field side is a third method yielding high density and high confinement, albeit not yet under steady-state conditions. In highly triangular plasmas the influence of input power, plasma triangularity and impurity seeding with noble gases has been studied. Density profile peaking at high densities has been obtained in (a) impurity seeded low triangularity discharges, (b) ELMy H-modes with low levels of input power and (c) discharges fuelled with pellet injection from the high field side. New ELM behaviour has been observed in high triangularity discharges at high density, opening a possible route to ELM heat load mitigation, which can be further amplified by Ar impurity seeding. Current extrapolations of the ELM heat load to ITER show possibly a window for Type I ELM operation. Confinement scaling studies indicate an increase in confinement with triangularity and density peaking, and a decrease in confinement with the Greenwald number. In addition, experiments in H isotope and He indicate τE ∝ M0.19Z−0.59. The threshold power for the L–H transition in He plasmas shows the same parametric dependence as in D plasmas, but with a 50% higher absolute value.