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Insider Brief
- Eclipse Foundation, an open-source quantum programming framework initiated by Fraunhofer FOKUS, won the 2026 Quantum Effects Award in the Quantum Computing Software & Algorithms category.
- The Python-based framework provides higher-level programming constructs and compiles them into optimized quantum circuits for different quantum computing environments.
- Qrisp supports hybrid quantum-classical computing, multiple quantum backends and integration with NVIDIA CUDA-Q while contributing to the SecQDevOps project.
PRESS RELEASE — The Eclipse Foundation , one of the world’s largest open source software foundations, today announced that Eclipse Qrisp , an open source framework for high-level quantum programming initiated by Fraunhofer FOKUS , has won the Quantum Effects Award 2026 in the Quantum Computing Software & Algorithms category.
As quantum computing advances, one of the fundamental challenges is making increasingly sophisticated quantum systems practical to program. Developers often work close to the hardware level, constructing algorithms through individual quantum gates, circuits, and qubits.
Eclipse Qrisp moves quantum programming up the software stack. Built on Python, it enables developers to express complex quantum algorithms using familiar concepts such as variables, functions, and control flow, then compiles those programs into optimised quantum circuits for execution across different quantum computing environments.
“Realizing the potential of quantum computing depends on making increasingly sophisticated systems practical to program,” said Michael Plagge, Chief Membership Officer at the Eclipse Foundation. “Developers should not have to think about every individual gate operation any more than modern software developers think about individual processor instructions. Eclipse Qrisp raises the level of abstraction, enabling developers to focus on the algorithm while the compiler manages much of the underlying complexity. This award is tremendous recognition for Fraunhofer FOKUS and the Eclipse Qrisp community.”
The Quantum Effects Award recognises application-oriented innovation in quantum technologies. An international jury of experts from science, industry, technology transfer, and investment selected the 2026 winners based on innovation, application potential, feasibility, and collaboration between research and industry.
The award was presented at Quantum Effects, the international trade fair and conference for quantum technologies taking place 6-7 October 2026 at Messe Stuttgart, Germany.
Moving Quantum Programming up the Software Stack
Qrisp abstracts much of the complexity of working directly with individual qubits and gates through higher-level constructs such as typed quantum variables, functions, automatic memory management, and control flow. Developers can focus more on what an algorithm should accomplish, while Qrisp handles much of the underlying circuit construction and quantum resource management.
By preserving the higher-level structure of a program, Qrisp gives its compiler more information to optimise the resulting quantum circuits. The framework supports hybrid quantum-classical computing through JAX and can target different quantum computing backends, giving developers greater portability across hardware environments.
Qrisp’s ecosystem is expanding through integration with NVIDIA CUDA-Q, connecting its high-level programming model with CUDA-Q’s quantum simulation and hardware backends.
Building an Open Quantum Software Ecosystem
As quantum hardware and software evolve rapidly, Qrisp provides an open, vendor-neutral platform for building quantum algorithms. Developed openly as an Eclipse Foundation project, it gives researchers, developers, hardware providers, and industry a common environment for collaboratively advancing high-level quantum programming across different hardware environments.
Eclipse Qrisp is also contributing to SecQDevOps , a Horizon Europe project exploring how security, testing, compliance, and DevOps practices can be integrated across quantum software and hardware development. Qrisp provides a high-level programming layer that can target different quantum computing backends, supporting this broader effort to make quantum software development more systematic, secure, and scalable.
Explore Eclipse Qrisp, try the framework, or contribute to the project at qrisp.eu and GitHub .
Join the Eclipse Qrisp community for the first Eclipse Qrisp Community Day on 29 October 2026 at Fraunhofer FOKUS in Berlin. Learn more and register .